BitTorrent Bleep Update Improves Offline Message Security

In addition to its Sync 2.0 service, BitTorrent also has an offline messaging app called Bleep that allows users to, says the company, "chat privately. srsly." Unlike other messaging apps, Bleep works straight from user-to-user, no in-between cloud storage to be seen. The benefit of this is security — as BitTorrent says, you don't have to worry about the online data related to your account being hacked as there is no cloud. The security isn't perfect, however, and so BitTorrent has pushed out an update.

BitTorrent Bleep avoids the cloud and, with Whisper, it deletes the messages once the recipient has read them. The problem, however, was with forward secrecy. BitTorrent explained the issue by saying that "if the private key of Alice or Bob was compromised, Eve could use" it to decrypt and read any offline messages she had managed to snag.

One of BitTorrent's software engineers recently detailed efforts to improve the security of offline messages, explaining the troubles presented by asynchronous messaging, which allows recipients to get messages if the sender isn't online. That was a much needed feature, but one apparently in need of better security.

BitTorrent details the changes it has made in length on its engineering blog, which you should check out if you want the nitty-gritty lowdown. Otherwise check out the timeline below to find out more on what BitTorrent Bleep is and the most recently changes it has undergone.

SOURCE: BitTorrent