Apple has hired a lead developer of encrypted messaging app Signal to work on its security team.
Frederic Jacobs, who worked on Signal as a security engineer for two-and-a half years, will be joining Apple in an internship position for this summer, where he says he will be working “with the CoreOS security team”.
I'm delighted to announce that I accepted an offer to be working with the CoreOS security team at Apple this summer.
— Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) February 25, 2016
Developed by Open Whisper Systems, an open-source development house spun out of Twitter in 2013, Signal is a favoured communications tool of security-conscious users worldwide. It has been endorsed by users including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, journalist Laura Poitras and and security researcher Bruce Schneier.
Compared to other encrypted messaging apps, which include WhatsApp, Telegram and Apple’s own iMessage, Signal has earned plaudits for the comprehensiveness of its own security, as well as its ease-of-use. While security breaches can occur through bugs in applications, user error is just as frequently at fault, and Signal is widely praised for avoiding the common pitfalls in design that lead to users inadvertently exposing their communications.
Jacobs will be joining Apple as the company squares off against the FBI over whether or not it can be mandated to write software to help the bureau hack into seized iPhones. The standoff has reportedly prompted Apple to work on security upgrades to its operating system and services that would prevent it from being able to comply with future demands.
The hiring doesn’t seem to be directly related to that effort, but Apple’s security team is gaining a higher profile with the rest of the world than it ever has before.
