Your Phone Number Is Extremely Valuable - Don't Just Give It Away

We saw this tweet today:

I'm still pretty frustrated that Signal requires us to use a phone number as a username. For at-risk groups facing targeted surveillance or hacking (including the growth of SIM swapping) a phone number is extremely valuable information.

— Martin Shelton (@mshelton) September 16, 2019

Now is a good opportunity to mention that while SumRando Messenger does provide the ability to link your account with your phone number or email address to make it easier for other users to find you, there is no mandatory link between your SRM account and your phone number or email.

We are committed to providing human rights activists, journalists, LGBTQ, women, and anyone who needs true privacy and anonymity with the tools they need to stay safe and secure.

Download SumRando Messenger at https://sumrando.com/messenger.aspx.

World Cup - not all fun and games

Finally! After four years of waiting, it's time for the World Cup! It's a time to wave your flags, shout until you have no voice, and maybe skip out of work. There's nothing like it in the world, this global celebration of sport, when half the world tunes in to watch with friends and family and cheer on the best players in the universe.

Unfortunately, for some people, it isn't all fun and games. For LGBT fans, it can be downright dangerous, especially in Russia.

The St. Petersburg based LGBT group Coming Out has set up a hotline for LGBT football fans visiting Russia in response to the oppressive environment created by the Putin regime - including recent discriminatory legislation - and threats from homophobic football gangs roaming the country. Violence against LGBT in Russia is not uncommon.

We invite LGBT football fans in Russia to use SumRando Messenger to communicate safely and privately during the World Cup. Our end to end encryption is top notch and is under the Russian radar, unlike some of the more trendy messenger apps. (For example, the Russian regime has given thumbs up to hacking WhatsApp and Skype as part of its plan to monitor all internet traffic in the country.) Even better, SumRando Messenger gives you the ability to destroy your messages forever, even if they are on the other person's phone. Leave no trace of your communications. Leave no "evidence" for oppressive governments to exploit should you be arrested for simply being you.

SumRando Cybersecurity is a proud supporter of LGBT rights. Time moves forward, not backwards. It's time for humanity to move forward as well. Until then, we'll continue to provide the tools to keep LGBT and any oppressed group safe from the hateful wrath of oppression.

SumTips: 10 Facts on Encryption and Human Rights from Amnesty International

Amnesty International recently released a report ranking 11 technology companies on encryption and human rights.

The results reinforce what we already know:

• Encryption helps protect people’s human rights online.

• Encryption stops cybercriminals from stealing our personal information, and helps prevent unlawful government surveillance of our communications.

• There is virtual consensus among expert technologists and cryptographers that it is impossible to put in place a system of special access that could only be used by the intended state authorities. If a backdoor exists, others–criminals, malicious hackers, or other governments–will also be able to access it.

…and remind us that there is still work to be done:

• Only three of the companies assessed–Apple, LINE, Viber Media–apply end-to-end encryption as a default to all of their IM services. Of these, none are fully transparent about the system of encryption they are using.

• In five cases Amnesty International found a gap between policy and practice: for example, Microsoft has a clear stated commitment to human rights, but is not applying any form of end-to-end encryption on its Skype service. 

• All of the companies, with the exception of Tencent, have stated publicly that they will not grant government requests to backdoor the encryption on their messaging services.

• Apple is a powerful advocate for privacy and security and is applying a strong form of encryption to its services. However, Amnesty International found that the company could do more to tackle these issues from a human rights perspective and inform its users about the threats to their human rights and the way that the company is responding.

• Facebook deploys end-to-end decryption by default on WhatsApp, but not on Facebook Messenger.

• Telegram Messenger, Kakao Talk and Google Allo do not warn users when using weaker encryption.

• Snapchat and BlackBerry Messenger offer no commitment to freedom of expression and make no policy recognition of online threats to human rights.

Know what your chat app can do for you, surf secure and stay Rando!

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Image credit of Shutterstock.com.

Want more SumTips? Read on!

• SumTips: 8 Must-Have Tips From EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense Guide
• SumTips: How Donald Trump Proves that Freedom of Speech Works
• SumTips: 9 Cyber Security Awareness Month Events Not to Miss

Want SumTips sent to your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter ("Security Tips and News" at bottom of page). 

SumRando Cybersecurity is a Mauritius-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

SumTips: 10 Things to Do on SumRando Messenger When WhatsApp Is Shut Down

This week, Brazil once again blocked WhatsApp in response to the messaging app’s refusal to supply information parent-company Facebook insists it doesn’t have. Within hours, a Supreme Court ruling turned the service back on, leaving many to wonder if this was the shutdown to end all shutdowns—or if there will be more to come.

At times like these, it’s good to remember that SumRando VPN will allow you to access WhatsApp even when it’s blocked and that WhatsApp is not the only messaging service out there. SumRando messenger, available for free for Android 4.1 and higher, utilizes 256-bit AES encryption and requires only a username and password for registration. From there, you can:

1.    Send and receive messages.

2.    Send and receive photos, videos and files.

3.    Use emojis!

4.    Communicate in any of 14 languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Taiwanese and Urdu.

5.    Start a group chat.

6.    Choose to link your phone number or email address to your account—or leave it anonymous.

7.    Delete messages at any time from your account.

8.    Delete messages at any time from a friend’s account.

9.    Destroy an entire conversation from your account.

10.  Destroy an entire conversation from a recipient’s account. Just like it never happened ;)

Don’t ever let a government shutdown stop you from continuing your conversations. Surf secure, stay Rando and keep chatting!

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Looking for ways to enhance your cybersecurity? Read on!

• SumTips: 5 Reasons to NOT Download Pokémon Go
• SumTips: 7 Signs You're at Risk of a Webcam Hack
• SumTips: 3 Ways Brexit Will Influence Your Cybersecurity

Want SumTips sent to your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter ("Security Tips and News" at bottom of page).

 

SumRando Cybersecurity is a Mauritius-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

SumRando’s Guide to a Secure Brazilian Carnival Experience

[Source: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images]

Brazil is currently mid-Carnival celebration, which means the weather is warm, the party is endless and the clothing is practically non-existent. This annual event gives Brazilians and tourists alike an opportunity to let it all hang out before Ash Wednesday ushers in yet another season of Lenten piousness.

Year after year, Carnival has proven to be an explosion of Samba, shimmer and sensuality, but one of this year’s main attractions is an invisible virus called Zika. The virus, which was recently discovered to lead to the birth defect microcephaly in pregnant woman, has infected 1.5 million Brazilians already. Known to be contained in saliva, semen, sweat and blood and thought to be transmitted by mosquitoes (if not the bodily fluids themselves), it’s not hard to see that the very premise underlying hot, sweaty, sexual Carnival is a public health incident waiting to happen.

Regardless, if the first four days of this time-honored tradition have proven anything, it’s that the show will go on, virus or no. For those who are celebrating, SumRando suggests the following critical safety gear:

• Mosquito Repellent: Apply. Apply. Bathe. Apply. And apply some more. 

[Source: Mario Tama/Getty Images]

• Protective Costumes: Be creative! Tuck a little mosquito netting under your hat to keep your head safe, or go all out and cover your entire body.

• Condoms: Health workers at Carnival hand out condoms every year, and this year they have seen more takers than ever before. If you were looking for an excuse to practice safe sex, know that the latest research points towards sexually transmitted Zika.

• SumRando’s VPN: How many times a day do you use the Internet on your phone? Multiply that number by 6 and that’s how many times you will use it on insecure public Wi-Fi from Carnival’s Friday kickoff to Ash Wednesday. Be smart—login to SumRando’s VPN before entering any passwords or personally identifying information online.  

• SumRando Secure Messenger: Want to guarantee that only you and a selected recipient see a certain Carnival photo? Better yet—want to permanently delete that photo from both phones after it has been seen? SumRando Messenger for Android is here for you. 

Carnival’s persistence in the face of Zika is a good reminder that the lives we lead—in person or in private—are ours, are worth living and are worth protecting. Samba secure and stay Rando!

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Want to know more about data privacy around the world? Read on!

• Happy Data Privacy Day, Randos!
• Sean Penn's "Secret Visit" With El Chapo Has Become Everyone's Business
• Free Speech in Kuwait Was Bad Before, And Now There's a Cybercrime Law

SumRando Cybersecurity is a South Africa-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!

SumRando Messenger for iOS

In order to bring you the best, most secure services available, we will be updating and adding new features to our SumRando Messenger iOS app in 2016. During this time, we will be suspending the availability and support of this service.  Beginning 1 January 2016, SumRando Messenger for iOS will no longer be available.

SumRando Messenger for iOS will return in mid-2016 with more features including cross-platform capability and end-to-end encryption.  SumRando Messenger for Android will continue to be available as we work to integrate end-to-end encryption in the beginning months of 2016.  

If you have any questions, please email support@sumrando.com.

Shortened WhatsApp Ban Signifies a New Norm in Favor of User Choice

Two noteworthy events took place last week: the banning of an American app affected the ability of an estimated 93 million Brazilians (nearly the entire online population) to communicate and, shortly thereafter, the suspension was reduced from 48 hours to far less than a day.

A Brazilian court had attempted to impose a two-day ban of messaging app WhatsApp as punishment for parent company Facebook not complying with a court-ordered police request for information. Facebook countered that the use of encryption made the data requested inaccessible, a choice that CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended in a post: “I am stunned that our efforts to protect people’s data would result in such an extreme decision by a single judge to punish every person in Brazil who uses WhatsApp."

Zuckerberg was far from alone in his sentiments. Just as #Nessas48HorasEuVou (#Inthese48hoursIwill) and its accompanying suggestions for finding ways to pass the time became Twitter’s latest trend, a second judge stepped in. Judge Xavier de Souza reinstated the service only hours after the ban began, suggesting a fine as a more appropriate way to address the situation, as it was “not reasonable that millions of users be affected by the inertia of the company."

This is one story that summarizes the current state of the Internet quite well:

• Even the strongest Internet law is penetrable: Marco Civil, Brazil’s Internet law, was passed in 2014 amidst praise for its capacity to protect online rights. An unannounced, nearly unexplained interruption of a communication service utilized by half of Brazil’s total population that disrupted everyday users more than WhatsApp itself is certainly a violation of the very rights Marco Civil purports to protect.

• There is strength in numbers: Judge de Souza’s argument for bringing WhatsApp back boiled down to one simple argument: everyone is on it. 

• Communication knows no country lines: The unusually high cost of services provided by Brazil’s telecom companies initially prompted millions of Brazilians to turn to WhatsApp, a foreign, low-cost alternative. If last week's brief outage was an attempt to get Brazilians to communicate the old-fashioned way, the takeaway is this: during the outage, Brazilians were at a loss for what to do with themselves—until they remembered that alternatives exist. Foreign-based services such as Telegram and SumRando Messenger were able to affordably fill a void that national services simply could not. 

 Last week's abbreviated WhatsApp ban signifies the coming of an era in which concerned citizens will dictate country policies. SumRando looks forward to a 2016 in which user choice brings the world closer to a free and open Internet for all.

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Want to know more about government infringements of citizens' rights? Read on!

• Draft Cybercrimes Bill Would Be a 'Sin' For South Africa
• BlackBerry Exits Pakistan Amidst Overwhelming Privacy Concerns
• #Justice4Morocco Postponed, But In Reach

SumRando Cybersecurity is a South Africa-based VPN, Web Proxy and Secure Messenger provider. Surf secure and stay Rando!