New York State Attorney General Letitia James has issued a consumer alert advising residents to safeguard their privacy when using mobile phone messaging. This comes after warnings from the FBI and other federal agencies about potential coordinated attacks on U.S. telecom wireless networks, which could have allowed hackers to intercept messages.
"New Yorkers expect that their private text messages will be protected," stated Attorney General James. "As we face a warning of coordinated attacks on our wireless networks, every New Yorker should be informed about this situation and empowered with the information they need to keep themselves safe and their messages private. I urge everyone to remain vigilant and protect their personal information by following our important tips."
To enhance privacy protection, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) suggests using mobile apps that encrypt messages. Encryption involves scrambling a message so it becomes unreadable before being sent, allowing only the intended recipient to decrypt and read it upon arrival.
Attorney General James provided several recommendations for New Yorkers regarding messaging app usage:
- Be aware that most text messaging services, including SMS, are not encrypted and could be accessed by attackers if they gain access to your provider's network.
- Consider using a messaging app with encryption capabilities. When choosing an app, understand what additional information it may collect or transmit, such as location data or profile pictures, and whether this data is also encrypted.
- Avoid sending sensitive information like account numbers or medical details via text, and be cautious of requests for such information.