The Olvid application would be the most secure messaging currently according to its co-founder, Cédric Sylvestre. As proof, instant messaging has resisted attacks from thousands of hackers trying to break into the system for over a year. Based on a “cryptographic engine”, the Olvid application removes the centralized directory of users elsewhere.
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« The app of instant messaging the most secure in the world Is what Olvid prides himself on, a application created in 2019. Its innovation: the elimination of the centralized directory of users, supposed to allow maximum security of conversations. On June 8, 800 criminals were arrested using an encrypted communications system called ANOM, designed and infiltrated by the FBI without their knowledge, contributing to a renewed interest in securing conversations.
« Olvid makes it possible to have a very high security rate in matter of non-compromise of your exchanges, that there is not on Signal or WhatsApp” or Telegram, a Russian application in the limelight and therefore more likely to be attacked, testifies Franck DeCloquement, expert in intelligence strategic. While most instant messaging applications are “end-to-end” encrypted, that is, they apply an encryption algorithm on data to make them unintelligible in case of interception of messages by an attacker, they are also composed of a server which lists all users, which makes the confidentiality of a conversation’s metadata vulnerable.
In that case, ” you trust an almighty server that distributes digital identities, encryption keys [et qui peut savoir] who talks to whom, when and how often, explains Cédric Sylvestre, co-founder of Olvid. We have deleted this directory which represents a real security problem. This is the first time in the world that two individuals can get in touch without trusting a server somewhere on the planet and the people who administer it, ”he says. In September 2020, the application received a ” Certification first-level security ”by the National Information Systems Security Agency (ANSSI).
Olvi, the best app in the world?
Yet, for many experts, Olvid is not the ultimate security answer, for several reasons. First of all, “ there is no app that cannot be hacked so there is no app that is the best in the world “, Tempers Baptiste Robert, ethical hacker founder of Predicta Lab. Then, “ Olvid is still too small to boast of being the most secure app », He believes. While Signal and WhatsApp have amassed millions of users over several years, “ Olvid only has 25,000 daily users, little experience and scaling up is extremely complicated », Details the ethical hacker.
Finally, Olvid’s code is not open source, that is to say closed to audits. ” Before you can attest to the reliability of an application, you must be sure that the entity that produces the messaging and which codes it has not made an error. », Says Jérôme Saiz, independent expert in business protection and founder of OPFOR Intelligence.
Olvid has been resisting hackers for a year
To the warnings of the experts, the co-founder of Olvid, Cédric Sylvestre, answers that his application is not hackable since ” 15,000 attackers have been trying to hack it for a year, to no avail “. It ensures that the security of the application is guaranteed thanks to the strength of its “cryptographic engine”, which would be able to host many more users if their numbers were to explode. And he promises that the code for the app will be released soon.
Even if nothing is foolproof, Olvid remains the best solution today
Although Olvid’s innovation is praised in the market, Signal remains the benchmark for many experts. Indeed, despite Signal’s centralized directory, the recipient must agree to receive a message for the sender to have access to their personal data. The level of security is therefore considered to be higher than that of WhatsApp, which systematically communicates personal data, without the authorization of the interlocutor.
In January, WhatsApp changed its terms of use allowing it to share more data with its parent company Facebook. This decision caused the migration of a large number of users to Signal, which has exploded the popularity of this application. Despite the caution he displays towards Olvid, Jérôme Saiz, user of Signal, is curious about the evolution of this new technology. For him, using it in the near future is a “still on the table” option. As for the expert Frank DeCloquement, he is convinced that ” even if nothing is foolproof, Olvid remains the best solution today ».
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