HN user

mmPzf

45 karma
Posts2
Comments9
View on HN

As always, that depends on your threat model. I'm definitely not an expert on the matter, but in the last couple of months there were a number of vulnerabilities in electron apps, including Slack, Discord, and Microsoft teams. The Signal desktop app is also electron based, so I wouldn't be surprised if some vulnerability was published in the next couple of months. Additionally, I have no idea how exactly the signal desktop app stores its data, and how easy it would be to extract it.

Personally, I'd stay away from the desktop app if I (or the source) were actively targeted by someone with enough resources to spend on either electron bugs, or other ways of accessing my computer. That includes spear phishing.

One of my guesses is security. The story behind the discovery of MS08-067 reads like a strong argument in favour of some telemetry. The TLDR is that someone at Microsoft noticed a strange crash in some telemetry bucket, and it turned out to be a wormable zero-day. There's a write up at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/johnla/the-in..., for those interested, and even though that story is twelve years old by now the general premise still stands.

  Location: Germany
  Remote: No
  Willing to relocate: Yes, Absolutely. I'm explicitly looking for opportunities outside of Germany.
  Technologies: Android, Linux, Django, React, Docker, Squeak, AFL, Kali, Metasploit
  Résumé/CV: https://dimeo.dev/cv.pdf
  Email: contact@dimeo.dev
I am a German computer science student in the process of finishing my bachelor degree. I'm very interested in cybersecurity and want to to take an internship of ideally half a year, focused on cybersecurity, outside of Germany after finishing my degree this June. I'm eager to pick up new tech and tools, and willing to extensively prepare for a position.

I remember reading this. I also remember reading a compelling argument that the conclusions drawn by those studies were wrong, and that the actual cause for the difference in walking speed is age. People in big cities tend to be younger (due to urban migration, and whatnot), and with lower age comes faster walking speed.

I can't remember where that argument was made, and I never fact checked it, so take it with a grain of salt. However, it seems much more convincing than the 'pace of life' argument.