- 
Privacy redefined
-The first messenger
without user IDs
+ Иной взгляд на приватность
+Первый мессенджер
не нуждающийся в идентификаторах
пользователя
- Other apps have user IDs: Signal, Matrix, Session, Briar, Jami, Cwtch, etc.
SimpleX does not, not even random numbers.
This radically improves your privacy.
+ Другие приложения имеют ID своих пользователей: Signal, Matrix, Session, Briar, Jami, Cwtch и т. п.
SimpleX не имет, нету даже случайных цифр.
Это значительно повышает вашу приватность.
Why user IDs are bad for privacy?
+Почему идентификаторы пользователя - вредны для приватности?
- When users have persistent identities, even if this is just a random number, like a Session ID, there is a risk that the provider or an attacker can observe how the users are connected and how many messages they send. + Когда у пользователей есть постоянные идентификаторы, даже если это просто случайное число, например идентификатор сеанса, существует риск того, что провайдер или злоумышленник могут наблюдайте за тем, как подключены пользователи и сколько сообщений они отправляют.
- They could then correlate this information with the existing public social networks, and determine some real identities. + Затем они могли бы сопоставить эту информацию с существующими общедоступными социальными сетями и определить некоторые реальные личности.
- Even with the most private apps that use Tor v3 services, if you talk to two different contacts via the same profile they can prove that they are connected to the same person. + Даже в самых приватных приложениях, использующих скрытые сервисы Tor v3, если вы общаетесь с двумя разными контактами через один и тот же профиль, они могут доказать, что они являются связаны с одним и тем же человеком.
- SimpleX protects against these attacks by not having any user IDs in its design. And, if you use Incognito mode, you will have a different display name for each contact, avoiding any shared data between them. + SimpleX защищает от этих атак, поскольку в его конструкции нет никаких идентификаторов пользователей. И, если вы используете режим инкогнито, у вас будет другое отображаемое имя для каждого контакта, что позволит избежать какого-либо пересечения между ними.
How does SimpleX work?
+Как работает SimpleX?
- Many users asked: if SimpleX has no user identifiers, how can it know where to deliver messages? + Многие спрашивают:Если у SimpleX нету никаких идентификаторов пользователя, то как приложение знает, куда доставлять сообщения?
- To deliver messages, instead of user IDs used by all other platforms, SimpleX uses temporary anonymous pairwise identifiers of message queues, separate for each of your connections — there are no long term identifiers. + Для доставки сообщений вместо идентификаторов пользователей, используемых всеми другими платформами, SimpleX использует временные, анонимные, попарные идентификаторы очередей сообщений, отдельно для каждого из ваших контактов — нет долгосрочных идентификаторов.
- You define which server(s) to use to receive the messages, your contacts — the servers you use to send the messages to them. Every conversation is likely to use two different servers. + Вы определяете, какие серверы будете использовать для получения сообщений, а ваши контакты — серверы, которые вы используете для отправки им сообщений. Каждый новый чат, скорее всего, будет вестись на двух разных серверах.
- This design prevents leaking any users' metadata on the application level. To further improve privacy and protect your IP address you can connect to messaging servers via Tor. + Такая конструкция предотвращает утечку любых пользовательских метаданных на уровне приложения. Для дальнейшего улучшения конфиденциальности и защиты вашего IP-адреса вы можете подключиться к серверам обмена сообщениями через сеть Tor.
- Only client devices store user profiles, contacts and groups; the messages are sent with 2-layer End-to-end encryption. + Только клиентские устройства хранят профили пользователей, контакты и группы; сообщения отправляются с двухуровневым, Сквозным шифрованием.
- Read more in SimpleX whitepaper. + Подробнее читайте в техническом документе SimpleX.
Security assessment
+Оценка безопасности
- Trail of Bits is a leading security and technology consultancy whose clients include big tech, governmental agencies and major Blockchain projects. + Trail of Bits - ведущая консалтинговая компания в области безопасности и технологий, клиентами которой являются крупные технологические компании, правительственные агентства и крупные блокчейн проекты.
- Trail of Bits reviewed SimpleX platform cryptography and networking components in November 2022. + В ноябре 2022 года Trail of Bits провела обзор криптографии и сетевых компонентов SimpleX.
- Read more in the announcement. + Подробнее читайте в анонсе.
Get SimpleX desktop app
+Скачать SimpleX для ПК
@@ -771,18 +771,18 @@ window.addEventListener('scroll',changeHeaderBg);
- Make a private connection + Как начать общаться приватно
- The video shows how you connect to your friend via their 1-time QR-code, in person or via a video link. You can also connect by sharing an invitation link. + В видео показано, как подключиться к своему другу с помощью его одноразового QR-кода, лично или по видеосвязи. Вы также можете подключиться, поделившись ссылкой-приглашением.
Why privacy matters
-Preserving the privacy of your metadata — who you talk with — protects you from:
+Почему приватность важна
+Сохранение конфиденциальности ваших метаданных — с кем вы общаетесь — защищает вас от:
Advertising and price discrimination
+Реклама и ценовая дискриминация
- Privacy saves you money + Конфиденциальность экономит ваши деньгиPrivacy saves you money
+Конфиденциальность экономит ваши деньги
- Many large companies use information about who you are connected with to estimate your income, sell you the products you don't really need, and to determine the prices. + Многие крупные компании используют информацию о том, с кем вы связаны, чтобы оценить ваш доход, продавать вам больше товаров, которые вам на самом деле не нужны, и определять из этой информации, выгодные для них цены.
- Online retailers know that people with lower incomes are more likely to make urgent purchases, so they may charge higher prices or remove discounts. + Интернет-магазины знают, что люди с более низкими доходами с большей вероятностью совершают срочные покупки, поэтому они могут устанавливать более высокие цены или отменять скидки.
- Some financial and insurance companies use social graphs to determine interest rates and premiums. It often makes people with lower incomes pay more — it is known as 'poverty premium'. + Некоторые финансовые и страховые компании используют социальные графики для определения процентных ставок и премий. Это часто заставляет людей с более низкими доходами платить больше — это известно как "премия за бедность".
- SimpleX platform protects the privacy of your connections better than any alternative, fully preventing your social graph becoming available to any companies or organizations. Even when people use servers provided by SimpleX Chat, we do not know the number of users or their connections. + Платформа SimpleX защищает конфиденциальность ваших контактов лучше, чем любая другая альтернатива, полностью предотвращая доступ к вашему социальному графику каким-либо компаниям или организациям. Даже когда люди используют серверы, предоставляемые SimpleX Chat, мы не знаем точное количество пользователей или с кем они общаются.
Manipulation of elections
+Манипулирование выборами
- Privacy gives you power + Конфиденциальность дает вам властьPrivacy gives you power
+Конфиденциальность дает вам власть
- Not so long ago we observed the major elections being manipulated by a reputable consulting company that used our social graphs to distort our view of the real world and manipulate our votes. + Не так давно мы наблюдали, как авторитетная консалтинговая компания манипулировала крупными выборами, используя наши социальные графики для искажения нашего мнения из реального мира и манипулируют нашими голосами.
- To be objective and to make independent decisions you need to be in control of your information space. It is only possible if you use private communication platform that does not have access to your social graph. + Чтобы быть объективным и принимать независимые решения, вам необходимо контролировать свое информационное пространство. Это возможно только в том случае, если вы используете приватную, коммуникационную платформу, которая не имеет доступа к вашему социальному графу.
- SimpleX is the first platform that doesn't have any user identifiers by design, in this way protecting your connections graph better than any known alternative. + SimpleX - это первая платформа, которая по своей конструкции не имеет никаких идентификаторов пользователей, таким образом защищая график ваших контактов лучше, чем любая известная альтернатива.
Prosecution due to innocent association
+Судебное преследование не виновных
- Privacy protects your freedom + Конфиденциальность защищает вашу свободуPrivacy protects your freedom
+Конфиденциальность защищает вашу свободу
- Everyone should care about privacy and security of their communications — harmless conversations can put you in danger, even if you have nothing to hide. + Каждый должен заботиться о конфиденциальности и безопасности своих коммуникаций — безобидные разговоры могут подвергнуть вас опасности, например за ваши политические взгляды, даже если кажется, что вам "нечего скрывать".
- One of the most shocking stories is the experience of Mohamedou Ould Salahi described in his memoir and shown in The Mauritanian movie. He was put into Guantanamo camp, without trial, and was tortured there for 15 years after a phone call to his relative in Afghanistan, under suspicion of being involved in 9/11 attacks, even though he lived in Germany for the previous 10 years. + Одна из самых шокирующих историй - это опыт Слахи, Мохаммеда Ульда, описанный в его мемуарах и показанный в фильме Мавританец. Он был помещен в лагерь Гуантанамо без суда и следствия и подвергался там пыткам в течение 15 лет после телефонного звонка своему родственнику в Афганистан под подозревается в причастности к терактам 11 сентября, хотя предыдущие 10 лет он жил в Германии.
- Ordinary people get arrested for what they share online, even via their 'anonymous' accounts, even in democratic countries. + Обычных людей арестовывают за то, чем они делятся в Интернете, даже через свои "анонимные" аккаунты, даже в демократических странах.
- It is not enough to use an end-to-end encrypted messenger, we all should use the messengers that protect the privacy of our personal networks — who we are connected with. + Недостаточно просто использовать мессенджер со сквозным шифрованием, мы все должны использовать мессенджеры, которые защищают конфиденциальность наших личных сетей — с какими людьми мы связаны.
Make sure your messenger can't access your data!
+Убедитесь, что ваш мессенджер не может получить доступ к вашим данным!
Why SimpleX is unique
+Почему SimpleX уникальный
#1
-You have complete privacy
+У вас есть полная
конфиденциальность
- SimpleX protects the privacy of your profile, contacts and metadata, hiding it from SimpleX platform servers and any observers. + SimpleX защищает конфиденциальность вашего профиля, контактов и метаданных, скрывая их от серверов платформы SimpleX и любых наблюдателей.
- Unlike any other existing messaging platform, SimpleX has no identifiers assigned to the users — not even random numbers. + В отличие от любой другой существующей платформы обмена сообщениями, SimpleX не имеет идентификаторов пользователей — нету даже случайных цифр.
Optional
access via Tor
+ Вариант доступа
через сеть Tor
To protect your IP address you can access the servers via Tor or some other transport Overlay network.
+Чтобы защитить свой IP-адрес вы можете подключаться к серверам через сеть Tor или какую-либо другую транспортную оверлейную сеть.
-To use SimpleX via Tor please install Orbot app and enable SOCKS5 proxy (or VPN on iOS).
+Чтобы использовать SimpleX через сеть Tor, пожалуйста, установите приложение Orbot и включите прокси (или режим VPN на iOS).
Tap to close
+Нажмите, чтобы закрыть
Unidirectional
message queues
+ Однонаправленные
очереди сообщений
Each message queue passes messages in one direction, with the different send and receive addresses.
+Каждая очередь сообщений передает сообщения в одном направлении с разными адресами отправки и получения.
-It reduces the attack vectors, compared with traditional message brokers, and available meta-data.
+Это уменьшает векторы атак и доступные метаданные, по сравнению с традиционными посредниками для доставки сообщений.
Tap to close
+Нажмите, чтобы закрыть
Multiple layers of
Content padding
+ Многоуровневое
Заполнения содержимого
SimpleX uses Content padding for each encryption layer to frustrate message size attacks.
+SimpleX использует заполнение содержимого для каждого уровня шифрования, чтобы предотвратить атаки на размер сообщения.
-It makes messages of different sizes look the same to the servers and network observers.
+Это позволяет сообщениям разного размера выглядеть одинаково для серверов и сетевых наблюдателей.
Tap to close
+Нажмите, чтобы закрыть
SimpleX Network
-Simplex Chat provides the best privacy by combining the advantages of P2P and federated networks.
+Сеть SimpleX
+SimpleX Chat обеспечивает наилучшую конфиденциальность, сочетая преимущества P2P и федеративных сетей.
Unlike P2P networks
+В отличие от P2P-сетей
- All messages are sent via the servers, both providing better metadata privacy and reliable asynchronous message delivery, while avoiding many problems of P2P networks. + Все сообщения отправляются через серверы, что обеспечивает лучшую конфиденциальность метаданных и надежную асинхронную доставку сообщений, избегая при этом многих проблем P2P сетей.
Comparison with P2P messaging protocols
+Сравнение с протоколами обмена сообщениями P2P
- P2P messaging protocols and apps have various problems that make them less reliable than SimpleX, more complex to analyse, and vulnerable to several types of attack. + Протоколы и приложения для обмена сообщениями P2P имеют различные проблемы, которые делают их менее надежными, чем SimpleX, более сложными для анализа и уязвимыми для нескольких типов атак.
- - P2P networks rely on some variant of DHT to route messages. DHT designs have to balance delivery guarantee and latency. SimpleX has both better delivery guarantee and lower latency than P2P, because the message can be redundantly passed via several servers in parallel, using the servers chosen by the recipient. In P2P networks the message is passed through O(log N) nodes sequentially, using nodes chosen by the algorithm. + Сети P2P полагаются на тот или иной вариант DHT для маршрутизации сообщений. Проекты DHT должны обеспечивать баланс между гарантией доставки и задержкой. SimpleX имеет как лучшую гарантию доставки, так и меньшую задержку, чем P2P. В сетях P2P сообщение передается через нескольких узлов, последовательно, кол-во узлов-посредников будет расти параллельно размеру сети - O(log N).
- - SimpleX design, unlike most P2P networks, has no global user identifiers of any kind, even temporary, and only uses temporary pairwise identifiers, providing better anonymity and metadata protection. + В отличие от многих P2P сетей, SimpleX спроектирован так, чтобы не нуждаться в глобальных идентификаторов его пользователей, даже временных, используя только временные попарные идентификаторы, обеспечивая лучшую анонимность и защиту метаданных пользователя.
- - P2P does not solve MITM attack problem, and most existing implementations do not use out-of-band messages for the initial key exchange. SimpleX uses out-of-band messages or, in some cases, pre-existing secure and trusted connections for the initial key exchange. + P2P не решает проблему MITM-атаки (Атака посредника), и большинство существующих реализаций не используют внеполосные сообщения для первоначального обмена ключами. SimpleX использует внеполосные сообщения или, в некоторых случаях, ранее существовавшие защищенные и доверенные соединения для первоначального обмена ключами.
- - P2P implementations can be blocked by some Internet providers (like BitTorrent). SimpleX is transport agnostic - it can work over standard web protocols, e.g. WebSockets. + Реализации P2P могут быть заблокированы некоторыми интернет-провайдерами (например, BitTorrent). SimpleX не зависит от транспорта - он может работать по стандартным веб-протоколам, например WebSockets.
- - All known P2P networks may be vulnerable to Sybil attack, because each node is discoverable, and the network operates as a whole. Known measures to mitigate it require either a centralized component or expensive proof of work. SimpleX network has no server discoverability, it is fragmented and operates as multiple isolated sub-networks, making network-wide attacks impossible. + Все известные P2P-сети могут быть уязвимы для Атаки Сивиллы, поскольку каждый узел доступен для обнаружения, и сеть работает как единое целое. Известные меры по его смягчению требуют либо централизованного компонента, либо дорогостоящего Proof-of-work. Сеть SimpleX не имеет функционала по обмену серверами, она фрагментирована и работает как множество изолированных подсетей, из-за чего провести атаку по всей сети - невозможно.
- - P2P networks may be vulnerable to DRDoS attack, when the clients can rebroadcast and amplify traffic, resulting in network-wide denial of service. SimpleX clients only relay traffic from known connection and cannot be used by an attacker to amplify the traffic in the whole network. + Сети P2P могут быть уязвимы для DRDoS атаки, когда клиенты могут ретранслировать и усиливать/увеличивать объём трафика, что приводит к отказу в обслуживании по всей сети. Клиенты SimpleX ретранслируют трафик только из известного соединения и не могут быть использованы злоумышленником для нагрузки трафика всей сети.
Unlike federated networks
+В отличие от федеративных сетей
- SimpleX relay servers do NOT store user profiles, contacts and delivered messages, do NOT connect to each other, and there is NO servers directory. + Серверные узлы SimpleX НЕ хранят профили пользователей, контакты и доставленные сообщения, НЕ подключаются друг к другу, и НЕ имеют каталога серверов.
SimpleX network
+Сеть SimpleX
- servers provide unidirectional queues to connect the users, but they have no visibility of the network connection graph — only the users do. + серверы предоставляют однонаправленные очереди для подключения пользователей, но у них нет видимости графика сетевых подключений — это делают только пользователи.
Simplex explained
+Простое объяснение вкратце
- You can create contacts and groups, and have two-way conversations, as in any other messenger. + Вы можете создавать контакты и группы, а также вести двусторонние беседы, как и в любом другом мессенджере.
- How can it work with unidirectional queues and without user profile identifiers? + Как это может работать с однонаправленными очередями и без идентификаторов профиля пользователя?
- For each connection you use two separate messaging queues to send and receive messages via different servers. + Для каждого подключения вы используете две отдельные очереди обмена сообщениями, то есть отправка и получения сообщений происходит через разные серверы.
- Servers only pass messages one way, without having the full picture of user's conversation or connections. + Серверы передают сообщения только в одну сторону, не имея полной картины общения пользователя или подключений.
- The servers have separate Anonymous credentials for each queue, and do not know which users they belong to. + Серверы имеют отдельные, Анонимные учётные данные для каждой очереди и не знают, к каким пользователям они принадлежат.
- Users can further improve metadata privacy by using Tor to access servers, preventing corellation by IP address. + Пользователи могут еще больше повысить свою конфиденциальность скрыв свой IP-адрес, например используя сеть Tor для доступа к серверам.
Comparison with other protocols
+Сравнение с другими протоколами
| Signal, big platforms | +Signal, большие платформы | XMPP, Matrix | -P2P protocols | +Протоколы P2P | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requires global identity | -No - private | -Yes 1 | -Yes 2 | -Yes 3 | +Требуется глобальный идентификатор | +Нет - приватно | +Да 1 | +Да 2 | +Да 3 |
| Possibility of MITM | -No - secure 4 | -Yes 5 | -Yes | -Yes | +Возможность MITM | +Нет - безопасно 4 | +Да 5 | +Да | +Да |
| Dependence on DNS | -No - resilient | -Yes | -Yes | -No | +Зависимость от DNS | +Нет - устойчив | +Да | +Да | +Нет |
| Single or Centralized network | -No - decentralized | -Yes | -No - federated 6 | -Yes 7 | +Единая или Централизованная сеть | +Нет - децентрализованный | +Да | +Нет - федеративный 6 | +Да 7 |
| Central component or other network-wide attack | -No - resilient | -Yes | -Yes 2 | -Yes 8 | +Атака на центральный компонент или другая сетевая атака | +Нет - устойчив | +Да | +Да 2 | +Да 8 |
- -
-
- Usually based on a phone number, in some cases on usernames -
- DNS-based addresses -
- Public key or some other globally unique ID -
- SimpleX relays cannot compromise e2e encryption. Verify security code to mitigate attack on out-of-band channel -
- If operator’s servers are compromised. Verify security code in Signal and some other apps to mitigate it -
- Does not protect users' metadata privacy -
- While P2P are distributed, they are not federated - they operate as a single network -
- P2P networks either have a central authority or the whole network can be compromised - see here +
- Обычно требуется номера телефона, в некоторых случаях — имя пользователя +
- Адреса на основе DNS +
- Открытый ключ или какой-либо другой глобально уникальный идентификатор +
- Сервера SimpleX не могут скомпрометировать сквозное шифрование +
- Если операторы серверов скомпрометированы. В Signal, и некоторых других приложениях, есть возможность подтвердить код безопасности +
- Не защищает конфиденциальность пользовательских метаданных +
- Хотя P2P распределены, они не являются федеративными, то есть P2P - работают как единая сеть +
- Сети P2P либо имеют центральный орган управления, либо вся сеть может быть скомпрометирована - подробней тут
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Address portability
Similarly to phone number portability (the ability of the customer to transfer the service to another provider without changing the number), the address portability means the ability of a communication service customer to change the service provider without changing the service address. Many federated networks support SRV records to provide address portability, but allowing service users to set up their own domains for the addresses is not as commonly supported by the available server and client software as for email.
Federated network
Federated network is provided by several entities that agree upon the standards and operate the network collectively. This allows the users to choose their provider, that will hold their account, their messaging history and contacts, and communicate with other providers' servers on behalf of the user. The examples are email, XMPP, Matrix and Mastodon.
The advantage of that design is that there is no single organization that all users depend on, and the standards are more difficult to change, unless it benefits all users. There are several disadvantages: 1) the innovation is slower, 2) each user account still depends on a single organization, and in most cases can't move to another provider without changing their network address – there is no address portability, 3) the security and privacy are inevitably worse than with the centralized networks.
Anonymous credentials
The credential that allows proving something, e.g. the right to access some resource, without identifying the user. This credential can either be generated by a trusted party or by the user themselves and provided together with the request to create the resource. The first approach creates some centralized dependency in most cases. The second approach does not require any trust - this is used in SimpleX network to authorize access to the messaging queues.
Anonymous credentials
The credential that allows proving something, e.g. the right to access some resource, without identifying the user. This credential can either be generated by a trusted party or by the user themselves and provided together with the request to create the resource. The first approach creates some centralized dependency in most cases. The second approach does not require any trust - this is used in SimpleX network to authorize access to the messaging queues.
Blockchain
In a wide sense, blockchain means a sequence of blocks of data, where each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, thus providing integrity to the whole chain. Blockchains are used in many communication and information storage systems to provide integrity and immutability of the data. For example, BluRay disks use blockchain. SimpleX messaging queues also use blockchain - each message includes the hash of the previous message, to ensure the integrity – if any message is modified it will be detected by the recipient when the next message is received. Blockchains are a subset of Merkle directed acyclic graphs.
Blockchain
In a wide sense, blockchain means a sequence of blocks of data, where each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, thus providing integrity to the whole chain. Blockchains are used in many communication and information storage systems to provide integrity and immutability of the data. For example, BluRay disks use blockchain. SimpleX messaging queues also use blockchain - each message includes the hash of the previous message, to ensure the integrity – if any message is modified it will be detected by the recipient when the next message is received. Blockchains are a subset of Merkle directed acyclic graphs.
In a more narrow sense, particularly in media, blockchain is used to refer specifically to distributed ledger, where each record also includes the hash of the previous record, but the blocks have to be agreed by the participating peers using some consensus protocol.
Merkle directed acyclic graph
Also known as Merkle DAG, a data structure based on a general graph structure where node contains the cryptographic hashes of the previous nodes that point to it. Merkle trees are a subset of Merkle DAGs - in this case each leaf contains a cryptographic hash of the parent.
This structure by design allows to verify the integrity of the whole structure by computing its hashes and comparing with the hashes included in the nodes, in the same way as with blockchain.
The motivation to use DAG in distributed environments instead of a simpler linear blockchain is to allow concurrent additions, when there is no requirement for a single order of added items. Merkle DAG is used, for example, in IPFS and will be used in decentralized SimpleX groups.
Break-in recovery
Also known as break-in recovery, it is the quality of the end-to-end encryption scheme allowing to recover security against a passive attacker who observes encrypted messages after compromising one (or both) of the parties. Also known as recovery from compromise or break-in recovery. Double-ratchet algorithm has this quality.
Break-in recovery
Also known as break-in recovery, it is the quality of the end-to-end encryption scheme allowing to recover security against a passive attacker who observes encrypted messages after compromising one (or both) of the parties. Also known as recovery from compromise or break-in recovery. Double-ratchet algorithm has this quality.
Double ratchet algorithm
It is used by two parties to exchange end-to-end encrypted messages. The parties will use some key agreement protocol to agree on the initial shared secret key.
Double Ratchet algorithm provides perfect forward secrecy and post-compromise security. It is designed by Signal, and used in SimpleX Chat and many other secure messengers. Most experts consider it the state-of-the-art encryption protocol in message encryption.
Centralized network
Centralized networks are provided or controlled by a single entity. The examples are Threema, Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram. The advantage of that design is that the provider can innovate faster, and has a centralized approach to security. But the disadvantage is that the provider can change or discontinue the service, and leak, sell or disclose in some other way all users' data, including who they are connected with.
Centralized network
Centralized networks are provided or controlled by a single entity. The examples are Threema, Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram. The advantage of that design is that the provider can innovate faster, and has a centralized approach to security. But the disadvantage is that the provider can change or discontinue the service, and leak, sell or disclose in some other way all users' data, including who they are connected with.
Content padding
Also known as content padding, it is the process of adding data to the beginning or the end of a message prior to encryption. Padding conceals the actual message size from any eavesdroppers. SimpleX has several encryption layers, and prior to each encryption the content is padded to a fixed size.
Content padding
Also known as content padding, it is the process of adding data to the beginning or the end of a message prior to encryption. Padding conceals the actual message size from any eavesdroppers. SimpleX has several encryption layers, and prior to each encryption the content is padded to a fixed size.
Decentralized network
Decentralized network is often used to mean "the network based on decentralized blockchain". In its original meaning, decentralized network means that there is no central authority or any other point of centralization in the network, other than network protocols specification. The advantage of decentralized networks is that they are resilient to censorship and to the provider going out of business. The disadvantage is that they are often slower to innovate, and the security may be worse than with the centralized network.
The examples of decentralized networks are email, web, DNS, XMPP, Matrix, BitTorrent, etc. All these examples have a shared global application-level address space. Cryptocurrency blockchains not only have a shared address space, but also a shared state, so they are more centralized than email. Tor network also has a shared global address space, but also a central authority. SimpleX network does not have a shared application-level address space (it relies on the shared transport-level addresses - SMP relay hostnames or IP addresses), and it does not have any central authority or any shared state.
Defense in depth
Originally, it is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space.
In information security, defense in depth represents the use of multiple computer security techniques to help mitigate the risk of one component of the defense being compromised or circumvented. An example could be anti-virus software installed on individual workstations when there is already virus protection on the firewalls and servers within the same environment.
SimpleX network applies defense in depth approach to security by having multiple layers for the communication security and privacy:
-
+
- double ratchet algorithm for end-to-end encryption with perfect forward secrecy and post-compromise security,
- additional layer of end-to-end encryption for each messaging queue and another encryption layer of encryption from the server to the recipient inside TLS to prevent correlation by ciphertext,
- TLS with only strong ciphers allowed, @@ -2047,7 +2047,7 @@ window.addEventListener("load", function () {
- mitigation of man-in-the-middle attack on client-client out-of-band channel when sending the invitation,
- rotation of delivery queues to reduce efficiency of traffic analysis,
- etc. -
Address portability
Similarly to phone number portability (the ability of the customer to transfer the service to another provider without changing the number), the address portability means the ability of a communication service customer to change the service provider without changing the service address. Many federated networks support SRV records to provide address portability, but allowing service users to set up their own domains for the addresses is not as commonly supported by the available server and client software as for email.
Federated network
Federated network is provided by several entities that agree upon the standards and operate the network collectively. This allows the users to choose their provider, that will hold their account, their messaging history and contacts, and communicate with other providers' servers on behalf of the user. The examples are email, XMPP, Matrix and Mastodon.
The advantage of that design is that there is no single organization that all users depend on, and the standards are more difficult to change, unless it benefits all users. There are several disadvantages: 1) the innovation is slower, 2) each user account still depends on a single organization, and in most cases can't move to another provider without changing their network address – there is no address portability, 3) the security and privacy are inevitably worse than with the centralized networks.
Anonymous credentials
The credential that allows proving something, e.g. the right to access some resource, without identifying the user. This credential can either be generated by a trusted party or by the user themselves and provided together with the request to create the resource. The first approach creates some centralized dependency in most cases. The second approach does not require any trust - this is used in SimpleX network to authorize access to the messaging queues.
Blockchain
In a wide sense, blockchain means a sequence of blocks of data, where each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, thus providing integrity to the whole chain. Blockchains are used in many communication and information storage systems to provide integrity and immutability of the data. For example, BluRay disks use blockchain. SimpleX messaging queues also use blockchain - each message includes the hash of the previous message, to ensure the integrity – if any message is modified it will be detected by the recipient when the next message is received. Blockchains are a subset of Merkle directed acyclic graphs.
In a more narrow sense, particularly in media, blockchain is used to refer specifically to distributed ledger, where each record also includes the hash of the previous record, but the blocks have to be agreed by the participating peers using some consensus protocol.
Merkle directed acyclic graph
Also known as Merkle DAG, a data structure based on a general graph structure where node contains the cryptographic hashes of the previous nodes that point to it. Merkle trees are a subset of Merkle DAGs - in this case each leaf contains a cryptographic hash of the parent.
This structure by design allows to verify the integrity of the whole structure by computing its hashes and comparing with the hashes included in the nodes, in the same way as with blockchain.
The motivation to use DAG in distributed environments instead of a simpler linear blockchain is to allow concurrent additions, when there is no requirement for a single order of added items. Merkle DAG is used, for example, in IPFS and will be used in decentralized SimpleX groups.
Break-in recovery
Also known as break-in recovery, it is the quality of the end-to-end encryption scheme allowing to recover security against a passive attacker who observes encrypted messages after compromising one (or both) of the parties. Also known as recovery from compromise or break-in recovery. Double-ratchet algorithm has this quality.
Double ratchet algorithm
It is used by two parties to exchange end-to-end encrypted messages. The parties will use some key agreement protocol to agree on the initial shared secret key.
Double Ratchet algorithm provides perfect forward secrecy and post-compromise security. It is designed by Signal, and used in SimpleX Chat and many other secure messengers. Most experts consider it the state-of-the-art encryption protocol in message encryption.
Centralized network
Centralized networks are provided or controlled by a single entity. The examples are Threema, Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram. The advantage of that design is that the provider can innovate faster, and has a centralized approach to security. But the disadvantage is that the provider can change or discontinue the service, and leak, sell or disclose in some other way all users' data, including who they are connected with.
Content padding
Also known as content padding, it is the process of adding data to the beginning or the end of a message prior to encryption. Padding conceals the actual message size from any eavesdroppers. SimpleX has several encryption layers, and prior to each encryption the content is padded to a fixed size.
Decentralized network
Decentralized network is often used to mean "the network based on decentralized blockchain". In its original meaning, decentralized network means that there is no central authority or any other point of centralization in the network, other than network protocols specification. The advantage of decentralized networks is that they are resilient to censorship and to the provider going out of business. The disadvantage is that they are often slower to innovate, and the security may be worse than with the centralized network.
The examples of decentralized networks are email, web, DNS, XMPP, Matrix, BitTorrent, etc. All these examples have a shared global application-level address space. Cryptocurrency blockchains not only have a shared address space, but also a shared state, so they are more centralized than email. Tor network also has a shared global address space, but also a central authority. SimpleX network does not have a shared application-level address space (it relies on the shared transport-level addresses - SMP relay hostnames or IP addresses), and it does not have any central authority or any shared state.
Defense in depth
Originally, it is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space.
In information security, defense in depth represents the use of multiple computer security techniques to help mitigate the risk of one component of the defense being compromised or circumvented. An example could be anti-virus software installed on individual workstations when there is already virus protection on the firewalls and servers within the same environment.
SimpleX network applies defense in depth approach to security by having multiple layers for the communication security and privacy:
End-to-end encryption
A communication system where only the communicating parties can read the messages. It is designed to protect message content from any potential eavesdroppers – telecom and Internet providers, malicious actors, and also the provider of the communication service.
End-to-end encryption requires agreeing cryptographic keys between the sender and the recipient in a way that no eavesdroppers can access the agreed keys. See key agreement protocol. This key exchange can be compromised via man-in-the-middle attack, particularly if key exchange happens via the same communication provider and no out-of-band channel is used to verify key exchange.
Forward secrecy
Also known as perfect forward secrecy, it is a feature of a key agreement protocol that ensures that session keys will not be compromised even if long-term secrets used in the session key exchange are compromised. Forward secrecy protects past sessions against future compromises of session or long-term keys.
Post-compromise security
Also known as break-in recovery, it is the quality of the end-to-end encryption scheme allowing to recover security against a passive attacker who observes encrypted messages after compromising one (or both) of the parties. Also known as recovery from compromise or break-in recovery. Double-ratchet algorithm has this quality.
Man-in-the-middle attack
The attack when the attacker secretly relays and possibly alters the communications between two parties who believe that they are directly communicating with each other.
This attack can be used to compromise end-to-end encryption by intercepting public keys during key exchange, substituting them with the attacker's keys, and then intercepting and re-encrypting all messages, without altering their content. With this attack, while the attacker does not change message content, but she can read the messages, while the communicating parties believe the messages are end-to-end encrypted.
Such attack is possible with any system that uses the same channel for key exchange as used to send messages - it includes almost all communication systems except SimpleX, where the initial public key is always passed out-of-band. Even with SimpleX, the attacker may intercept and substitute the key sent via another channel, gaining access to communication. This risk is substantially lower, as attacker does not know in advance which channel will be used to pass the key.
To mitigate such attack the communicating parties must verify the integrity of key exchange - SimpleX and many other messaging apps, e.g. Signal and WhatsApp, have the feature that allows it.
Message padding
Also known as content padding, it is the process of adding data to the beginning or the end of a message prior to encryption. Padding conceals the actual message size from any eavesdroppers. SimpleX has several encryption layers, and prior to each encryption the content is padded to a fixed size.
Key agreement protocol
Also known as key exchange, it is a process of agreeing cryptographic keys between the sender and the recipient(s) of the message. It is required for end-to-end encryption to work.
End-to-end encryption
A communication system where only the communicating parties can read the messages. It is designed to protect message content from any potential eavesdroppers – telecom and Internet providers, malicious actors, and also the provider of the communication service.
Forward secrecy
Also known as perfect forward secrecy, it is a feature of a key agreement protocol that ensures that session keys will not be compromised even if long-term secrets used in the session key exchange are compromised. Forward secrecy protects past sessions against future compromises of session or long-term keys.
Key exchange
Also known as key exchange, it is a process of agreeing cryptographic keys between the sender and the recipient(s) of the message. It is required for end-to-end encryption to work.
Key exchange
Also known as key exchange, it is a process of agreeing cryptographic keys between the sender and the recipient(s) of the message. It is required for end-to-end encryption to work.
Onion routing
A technique for anonymous communication over a computer network that uses multiple layers of message encryption, analogous to the layers of an onion. The encrypted data is transmitted through a series of network nodes called "onion routers," each of which "peels" away a single layer, revealing the data's next destination. The sender remains anonymous because each intermediary knows only the location of the immediately preceding and following nodes.
The most widely used onion network is Tor.
Some elements of SimpleX network use similar ideas in their design - different addresses for the same resource used by different parties, and additional encryption layers. Currently though, SimpleX messaging protocol does not protect sender network address, as the relay server is chosen by the recipient. The delivery relays chosen by sender that are planned for the future would make SimpleX design closer to onion routing.
Overlay network
Nodes in the overlay network can be thought of as being connected by virtual or logical links, each of which corresponds to a path, perhaps through many physical links, in the underlying network. Tor, for example, is an overlay network on top of IP network, which in its turn is also an overlay network over some underlying physical network.
Overlay network
Nodes in the overlay network can be thought of as being connected by virtual or logical links, each of which corresponds to a path, perhaps through many physical links, in the underlying network. Tor, for example, is an overlay network on top of IP network, which in its turn is also an overlay network over some underlying physical network.
SimpleX Clients also form a network using SMP relays and IP or some other overlay network (e.g., Tor), to communicate with each other. SMP relays, on another hand, do not form a network.
Pairwise pseudonymous identifier
Generalizing the definition from NIST Digital Identity Guidelines, it is an opaque unguessable identifier generated by a service used to access a resource by only one party.
In the context of SimpleX network, these are the identifiers generated by SMP relays to access anonymous messaging queues, with a separate identifier (and access credential) for each accessing party: recipient, sender and and optional notifications subscriber. The same approach is used by XFTP relays to access file chunks, with separate identifiers (and access credentials) for sender and each recipient.
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is the network architecture when participants have equal rights and communicate directly via a general purpose transport or overlay network. Unlike client-server architecture, all peers in a P2P network both provide and consume the resources. In the context of messaging, P2P architecture usually means that the messages are sent between peers, without user accounts or messages being stored on any servers. Examples are Tox, Briar, Cwtch and many others.
The advantage is that the participants do not depend on any servers. There are multiple downsides to that architecture, such as no asynchronous message delivery, the need for network-wide peer addresses, possibility of network-wide attacks, that are usually mitigated only by using a centralized authority. These disadvantages are avoided with proxied P2P architecture.
Proxied peer-to-peer
Network topology of the communication system when peers communicate via proxies that do not form the network themselves. Such design is used in Pond, that has a fixed home server for each user, and in SimpleX, that uses multiple relays providing temporary connections.
Perfect forward secrecy
Also known as perfect forward secrecy, it is a feature of a key agreement protocol that ensures that session keys will not be compromised even if long-term secrets used in the session key exchange are compromised. Forward secrecy protects past sessions against future compromises of session or long-term keys.
Post-quantum cryptography
Any of the proposed cryptographic systems or algorithms that are thought to be secure against an attack by a quantum computer. It appears that as of 2023 there is no system or algorithm that is proven to be secure against such attacks, or even to be secure against attacks by massively parallel conventional computers, so a general recommendation is to use post-quantum cryptographic systems in combination with the traditional cryptographic systems.
Recovery from compromise
Also known as break-in recovery, it is the quality of the end-to-end encryption scheme allowing to recover security against a passive attacker who observes encrypted messages after compromising one (or both) of the parties. Also known as recovery from compromise or break-in recovery. Double-ratchet algorithm has this quality.
User identity
In a communication system it refers to anything that uniquely identifies the users to the network. Depending on the communication network, it can be a phone number, email address, username, public key or a random opaque identifier. Most messaging networks rely on some form of user identity. SimpleX appears to be the only messaging network that does not rely on any kind of user identity - see this comparison.