Signal Alums Reveal ‘Encrypted Spaces,’ a System for Making Private Collaboration Apps
Cryptographers from institutions like Microsoft and former Signal developers have released 'Encrypted Spaces,' a new framework for building end-to-end encrypted collaboration software. The project aims to move beyond simple one-to-one messaging encryption to support complex, multi-user environments like Slack or Google Docs.
Why it matters
As remote work and digital collaboration become standard, this technology addresses the critical need for privacy in complex, multi-user software architectures.
Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story End-to-end encryption, in which data is encoded so that only users on either “end” of a conversation can decrypt their communications—and not the server that relays that information or any other interloper—has become the standard for modern privacy on the internet. But its very name suggests a kind of simple pipe with two openings. The metaphor, and often the encryption technology that has enabled that model, doesn t fit neatly onto the world of Slack , Discord , Google Docs , and the other multiuser, complex, collaborative software where people now live and work.
The article reports on a technical development in privacy software with a focus on the mechanics and goals of the project.
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