Pavel Durov, the creator of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, has announced that placing backdoors into encrypted communications platforms could help terrorists. CNN reports that Durov said that once security is compromised, there is no way to ensure that only governments will use backdoors – and that criminals and terrorists could also exploit the vulnerabilities that backdoors would create. Durov’s company has not released any information about its users to any governments, but it does shut down ISIS-related channels when its users report them. Telegram is often considered the favorite messaging app of the Islamic State due to its high degree of security, although Durov originally created it as a means of protecting dissidents and activists from government oppression in his native Russia.
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