A top U.S. cybersecurity official and two senators have advised Americans and government agencies to use encryption when messaging one another in the midst of recent Chinese cyberattacks and intrusions.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Jeff Greene said Americans should know that “our advice is to avoid using plaintext.”
Plaintext refers to readable data that is not encrypted, encoded, or otherwise obfuscated.
“Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication. Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible,” Greene told several media outlets….