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Cryptocat

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In March 2016 Kobeissi announced the re-release of Cryptocat, rewritten completely as desktop software instead of the original web application software, as a public beta and the resumption of the service. The new desktop-centric approach allowed Cryptocat to benefit from stronger desktop integration, in a style similar to
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mobile application. Cryptocat's goal is for its messages to obtain confidentiality, integrity, source authenticity, forward and future secrecy and indistinguishability even over a network controlled by an active attacker. The forward secrecy features of the protocol that Cryptocat uses are similar to
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In February 2016, citing dissatisfaction with the project's current state after 19 months of non-maintenance, Kobeissi announced that he would be taking Cryptocat temporarily offline and discontinuing the development of its mobile application, pending a complete rewrite and relaunch of the software.
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In June 2013, security researcher Steve Thomas pointed out a security bug that could be used to decrypt any group chat message that had taken place using Cryptocat between September 2012 and 19 April 2013. Private messages were not affected, and the bug had been resolved a month before. In response,
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Originally in 2013, Cryptocat offered the ability to connect to Facebook Messenger to initiate encrypted chatting with other Cryptocat users. According to the developers, the feature was meant to help offer an alternative to the regular Cryptocat chat model which did not offer long-term contact
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All messages, files and audio/video recordings sent over Cryptocat are end-to-end encrypted. Cryptocat users link their devices to their Cryptocat account upon connection, and can identify each other's devices via the client's device manager in order to prevent
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to secure all communications to other Cryptocat users. Users are given the option of independently verifying their buddies' device lists and are notified when a buddy's device list is modified and all updates are verified through the built-in update downloader.
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and other official channels controlled by targeted platforms. After Cryptocat's re-write into desktop software in March 2016, the software became distributed exclusively through Cryptocat's own servers, which also handle signed update delivery.
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In February 2014, an audit by iSec Partners criticized Cryptocat's authentication model as insufficient. In response, Cryptocat made improvements to user authentication, making it easier for users to authenticate and detect
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handshake. The handshake mixes in long-term identity keys, an intermediate-term signed pre-key, and a one-time use pre-key. The approach is similar to the encryption protocol adopted for encrypted messaging by the
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chat conversations. Users can exchange one-to-one messages, encrypted files, photos as well as create and share audio/video recordings. All devices linked to Cryptocat accounts will receive
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Cryptocat also includes a built-in auto-update mechanism that automatically performs a signature check on downloaded updates in order to verify authenticity, and employs TLS
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and questioned about Cryptocat's censorship resistance. He tweeted about the incident afterwards, resulting in media coverage and a spike in the popularity of the software.
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Cryptocat issued a security advisory, requested that all users ensure that they had upgraded, and informed users that past group conversations may have been compromised.
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In February 2019, it was announced that Cryptocat would be discontinued. As of December 2019, the cryptocat domain is for sale and links to the site for the
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for signing. In order to limit the effect of a long-term identity key compromise, long-term keys are used exclusively once for the initial
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and further developed along with a community of open source contributors and is published under the terms of the
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standard, which also gives Cryptocat multi-device support and allows for offline messaging.
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and future secrecy across messages, after a session is established using a four-way
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From March 2011 until March 2016, Cryptocat was officially distributed through the
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No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State
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In June 2012, Kobeissi said he was detained at the U.S. border by the
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for the first time, after other encryption software failed to work.
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https://isecpartners.github.io/publications/iSEC_Cryptocat_iOS.pdf
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mechanism in order to help detect device identity key changes.
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for Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman shared secret agreement,
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lists. This feature was disconnected in November 2015.
1300: 947: 778: 230: 1071: 407:, shortly after the election of Iran's new president 688: 686: 684: 543: 1072:Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (21 November 2013). 612: 610: 372:in order to prevent network impersonation attacks. 1275:"Cryptocat Aims for Easy-to-use Encrypted IM Chat" 1033: 781:"New Critical Vulnerability in Cryptocat: Details" 291:license, although it has since been discontinued. 681: 299:Cryptocat was first launched on 19 May 2011 as a 1327: 607: 1174: 426:), having its code open to independent review ( 384:In June 2013, Cryptocat was used by journalist 495:For the transport layer, Cryptocat adopts the 1004:"Cryptocat, Now with Encrypted Facebook Chat" 497:OMEMO Multi-End Message and Object Encryption 1305: 1244: 411:who had promised more open Internet laws. 403:In November 2013, Cryptocat was banned in 238: 138: 94: 34: 1210: 1028: 911: 1226:Curtis, Christopher (17 February 2012). 748: 1257: 850: 826:"Recent Audits and Coming Improvements" 576:Comparison of instant messaging clients 40:Cryptocat 3.1.24 running on Windows 10. 1366:Free software programmed in JavaScript 1328: 1225: 968: 379: 16:Open source encrypted chat application 1180: 1001: 924:from the original on 12 December 2021 823: 616: 345:Cryptocat allows its users to set up 1272: 1157:"Cryptocat Cryptographic Primitives" 851:Paletta, Damian (22 February 2016). 730:from the original on 29 January 2013 568:Free and open-source software portal 13: 1258:Knowles, Jamillah (3 March 2012). 1204: 1132:"Cryptocat Axolotl Implementation" 14: 1377: 1292: 1086:from the original on 22 June 2014 983:from the original on 19 June 2014 946:. 7 November 2019. Archived from 863:from the original on 19 June 2018 757:from the original on 26 July 2015 669:from the original on 18 July 2016 883:"Cryptocat Release Announcement" 645:"Cryptocat 3.2.08 Release Notes" 560: 546: 507:Cryptocat's network relies on a 25: 1211:Greenberg, Andy (27 May 2011). 1149: 1124: 1098: 1065: 1022: 995: 962: 936: 905: 875: 522: 433: 63:Nadim Kobeissi and contributors 1361:Software using the GPL license 1356:Free instant messaging clients 1273:Kirk, Jeremy (14 March 2012). 1040:. Metropolitan Books. p.  817: 799: 742: 726:. Itbusiness.ca. 8 June 2012. 716: 651: 476:for authenticated encryption, 416:Electronic Frontier Foundation 1: 969:Norton, Quinn (12 May 2014). 912:Cryptocat (5 February 2019). 619:"Cryptocat Mission Statement" 601: 453:Elliptic-curve Diffie–Hellman 438: 353:messages, even when offline. 1245:Dwyer, Jim (17 April 2012). 779:Cryptocat Development Blog. 470:Advanced Encryption Standard 414:Cryptocat was listed on the 259:intended to allow encrypted 7: 1183:"Cryptocat Download Server" 539: 361:. Cryptocat also employs a 340: 10: 1382: 511:configuration served over 502: 490:Authenticated Key Exchange 461:those first introduced by 294: 220:GNU General Public License 1346:Internet privacy software 359:man-in-the-middle attacks 320:man-in-the-middle attacks 283:Cryptocat was created by 225: 213: 201: 179: 171: 159: 149: 118: 114: 86: 82: 67: 57: 45: 33: 24: 811:12 November 2020 at the 554:Freedom of speech portal 463:Off-the-Record Messaging 445:Double Ratchet Algorithm 857:The Wall Street Journal 529:Google Chrome Web Store 484:for key derivation and 1351:Free security software 1336:Cryptographic software 694:"Cryptocat - Security" 581:Freedom of information 1341:End-to-end encryption 420:end-to-end encryption 277:end-to-end encryption 101:; 7 years ago 71:19 May 2011 1287:on 17 December 2012. 1240:on 19 February 2012. 347:end-to-end encrypted 208:Secure communication 1112:on 15 November 2016 1010:on 11 November 2014 893:on 22 December 2016 474:Galois/Counter Mode 468:Cryptocat uses the 447:in order to obtain 380:Reception and usage 370:certificate pinning 257:desktop application 21: 1189:on 18 January 2019 950:on 7 November 2019 832:on 15 October 2014 363:Trust on first use 252:is a discontinued 99:/ 20 February 2017 47:Original author(s) 19: 443:Cryptocat uses a 247: 246: 182:List of languages 1373: 1309: 1304: 1303: 1301:Official website 1288: 1283:. 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Archived from 614: 596:Internet privacy 570: 565: 564: 563: 556: 551: 550: 549: 243: 242: 235: 232: 161:Operating system 142: 137: 134: 132: 130: 109: 107: 106:20 February 2017 102: 98: 78: 76: 38: 29: 22: 18: 1381: 1380: 1376: 1375: 1374: 1372: 1371: 1370: 1326: 1325: 1299: 1298: 1295: 1207: 1205:Further reading 1202: 1192: 1190: 1179: 1175: 1165: 1163: 1155: 1154: 1150: 1140: 1138: 1130: 1129: 1125: 1115: 1113: 1104: 1103: 1099: 1089: 1087: 1070: 1066: 1056: 1054: 1052: 1032:(13 May 2014). 1027: 1023: 1013: 1011: 1000: 996: 986: 984: 976:The Daily Beast 967: 963: 953: 951: 942: 941: 937: 927: 925: 910: 906: 896: 894: 881: 880: 876: 866: 864: 849: 845: 835: 833: 822: 818: 813:Wayback Machine 804: 800: 790: 788: 777: 770: 760: 758: 747: 743: 733: 731: 722: 721: 717: 707: 705: 704:on 7 April 2016 692: 691: 682: 672: 670: 657: 656: 652: 643: 642: 638: 628: 626: 625:on 7 April 2016 615: 608: 604: 566: 561: 559: 552: 547: 545: 542: 533:Apple App Store 525: 505: 441: 436: 424:forward secrecy 386:Glenn Greenwald 382: 343: 301:web application 297: 261:online chatting 237: 229: 197: 196: 183: 145: 127: 110: 105: 103: 100: 74: 72: 68:Initial release 41: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1379: 1369: 1368: 1363: 1358: 1353: 1348: 1343: 1338: 1322: 1321: 1310: 1294: 1293:External links 1291: 1290: 1289: 1270: 1255: 1251:New York Times 1242: 1223: 1206: 1203: 1201: 1200: 1173: 1148: 1123: 1097: 1064: 1051:978-1627790734 1050: 1021: 994: 961: 935: 904: 874: 843: 816: 798: 787:on 5 July 2013 768: 749:Steve Thomas. 741: 715: 680: 650: 636: 605: 603: 600: 599: 598: 593: 588: 583: 578: 572: 571: 557: 541: 538: 524: 521: 504: 501: 440: 437: 435: 432: 409:Hassan Rouhani 398:Edward Snowden 396:whistleblower 381: 378: 351:forward secure 342: 339: 335:Wire messenger 296: 293: 285:Nadim Kobeissi 263:available for 245: 244: 227: 223: 222: 217: 211: 210: 205: 199: 198: 184: 181: 180: 177: 176: 173: 169: 168: 166:Cross-platform 163: 157: 156: 151: 147: 146: 144: 143: 124: 122: 116: 115: 112: 111: 92: 90: 84: 83: 80: 79: 69: 65: 64: 61: 55: 54: 52:Nadim Kobeissi 49: 43: 42: 39: 31: 30: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1378: 1367: 1364: 1362: 1359: 1357: 1354: 1352: 1349: 1347: 1344: 1342: 1339: 1337: 1334: 1333: 1331: 1324: 1320: 1316: 1315: 1311: 1308: 1302: 1297: 1296: 1286: 1282: 1281: 1276: 1271: 1267: 1266: 1261: 1256: 1252: 1248: 1243: 1239: 1235: 1234: 1229: 1224: 1220: 1219: 1214: 1209: 1208: 1188: 1184: 1177: 1162: 1158: 1152: 1137: 1133: 1127: 1111: 1107: 1101: 1085: 1081: 1080: 1075: 1068: 1053: 1047: 1043: 1038: 1037: 1031: 1025: 1009: 1005: 998: 982: 978: 977: 972: 965: 949: 945: 939: 923: 919: 918:@cryptocatapp 915: 908: 892: 888: 884: 878: 862: 859:. 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It uses 254:open-source 175:3 languages 1330:Categories 1161:github.com 1136:github.com 954:5 December 928:5 February 887:crypto.cat 698:crypto.cat 663:crypto.cat 602:References 591:Hacktivism 513:WebSockets 478:Curve25519 439:Encryption 154:JavaScript 150:Written in 135:/cryptocat 133:/cryptocat 120:Repository 75:2011-05-19 1314:Cryptocat 390:Hong Kong 388:while in 250:Cryptocat 20:Cryptocat 1265:BBC News 1193:22 April 1166:22 April 1141:22 April 1116:21 April 1084:Archived 1079:Mashable 981:Archived 922:Archived 897:22 April 861:Archived 809:Archived 755:Archived 728:Archived 708:29 March 673:29 March 667:Archived 629:22 April 540:See also 392:to meet 341:Features 1280:PCWorld 1090:22 June 1057:22 June 1014:22 June 987:22 June 836:22 June 761:10 July 734:28 July 503:Network 486:Ed25519 449:forward 295:History 265:Windows 226:Website 215:License 190:Catalan 186:English 104: ( 73: ( 1319:GitHub 1218:Forbes 1048:  791:7 July 531:, the 458:Signal 328:Pidgin 271:, and 236:  231:crypto 194:French 129:github 289:GPLv3 273:Linux 1195:2016 1168:2016 1143:2016 1118:2016 1092:2014 1059:2014 1046:ISBN 1016:2014 989:2014 956:2019 930:2019 899:2016 869:2016 838:2014 793:2013 763:2013 736:2012 710:2016 675:2016 631:2016 509:XMPP 405:Iran 269:OS X 233:.cat 203:Type 131:.com 1317:on 517:TLS 472:in 394:NSA 308:DHS 1332:: 1277:. 1262:. 1249:. 1230:. 1215:. 1159:. 1134:. 1082:. 1076:. 1044:. 1042:59 979:. 973:. 920:. 916:. 885:. 855:. 771:^ 753:. 696:. 683:^ 665:. 661:. 609:^ 519:. 465:. 337:. 330:. 322:. 303:. 267:, 192:, 188:, 1268:. 1253:. 1221:. 1197:. 1170:. 1145:. 1120:. 1094:. 1061:. 1018:. 991:. 958:. 932:. 901:. 871:. 840:. 795:. 765:. 738:. 712:. 677:. 647:. 633:. 108:) 77:)

Index



Original author(s)
Nadim Kobeissi
Developer(s)
Final release
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Repository
github.com/cryptocat/cryptocat
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JavaScript
Operating system
Cross-platform
English
Catalan
French
Type
Secure communication
License
GNU General Public License
crypto.cat
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open-source
desktop application
online chatting
Windows
OS X
Linux
end-to-end encryption
Nadim Kobeissi

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