Apple has hired one of the developers behind Signal app — The app which has been used and endorsed by Edward Snowden
So it seems that the Apple is hell bent on providing greater and superior security to its consumers, regardless of the controversy going on nowadays regarding giving access to alleged terrorists’ iPhone to the FBI.
In another situation, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that Apple has hired a Switzerland-based developer Frederic Jacobs, who excels in developing secure messaging apps like Signal. Apple has a reputation for hiring interns all the year round. However, this is a completely different scenario as Apple is currently going through a legal controversy with the FBI and the firm is opposing the federal court’s order to let the investigation agency access the iPhone of one attacker involved in San Bernardino shootings.
It must be noted that Jacobs is the developer of Signal, which is NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s favorite communications app. In an official announcement, Jacobs informed all that he will be joining Apple this summer and will be working on its CoreOS team.
I'm delighted to announce that I accepted an offer to be working with the CoreOS security team at Apple this summer.
— Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) February 25, 2016
Previously, Jacobs was associated with Whisper Systems, for approximately two and a half years. Whisper Systems is the producer of Signal. This year, Jacobs left the company and has now announced that he will be working for Apple now.
“Without strong encryption, you will be spied on systematically by lots of people,” Whitfield DiffieIt is yet unclear what kind of job Jacobs will be performing at Apple. However, him being hired by Apple is a news that has arrived at a time when the iPhone manufacturer firm is going through a pressing phase. It is apparent that Apple always tweaks its security measures after every major software update or release. Yesterday, we learnt that Apple will be removing the current passcode-free recovery option from upcoming iPhones and would continue to encrypt iPhone backups on iCloud.
The Praiseworthy Signal App:
It is a fact that Jacobs is the master of his trade since Signal app has garnered praise from the high and mighty of the cyber security fraternity. It is a robust app that is even liked by Snowden as he stated that he uses it daily.
Signal is among those few apps that were ranked at the top slot in an EFF survey for being highly secure and reliable. According to security researcher Jonathan Ździarski, this app reveals “virtually nothing” even when data excavation tools are used.
