The GSM Affiliation (GSMA) has officially introduced enhance for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for securing messages despatched by means of the Wealthy Communications Products and services (RCS) protocol, bringing much-needed safety protections to cross-platform messages shared between Android and iOS platforms.
To that finish, the brand new GSMA specs for RCS come with E2EE in line with the Messaging Layer Safety (MLS) protocol by means of what is referred to as the RCS Common Profile 3.0.
“The brand new specs outline find out how to observe MLS throughout the context of RCS,” Tom Van Pelt, technical director of GSMA, stated. “Those procedures make sure that messages and different content material akin to recordsdata stay confidential and safe as they trip between purchasers.”
This additionally implies that RCS would be the first “large-scale messaging carrier” to have enhance for interoperable E2EE between other shopper implementations from other suppliers within the close to long term.
It is value noting that Google’s personal implementation of RCS, used within the Messages app for Android, secures conversations the usage of the Sign protocol to handle the loss of integrated E2EE protections. That stated, the encryption safeguards are recently restricted to messages exchanged by means of the app, and now not the ones exchanged with the iOS Messages customers or customers of different RCS purchasers on Android.
The improvement comes just about six months after the GSMA stated it used to be running in opposition to imposing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to safe messages despatched between the Android and iOS ecosystems. The transfer adopted Apple’s resolution to roll out enhance for RCS in its personal Messages app with iOS 18.
In July 2023, Google printed that it intends so as to add enhance for MLS to its Messages carrier and open-source implementation of the specification.
“RCS continues to enhance a spread of interoperable messaging purposes between iOS and Android customers, akin to team messaging, the power to proportion high-resolution media, and notice learn receipts and typing signs,” Van Pelt stated.
When reached for remark, Google stated, “We’ve got all the time been dedicated to offering a safe messaging enjoy, and Google Messages customers have had end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS messaging for years. We are excited to have this up to date specification from GSMA and paintings as temporarily as imaginable with the cellular ecosystem to enforce and prolong this essential consumer coverage to cross-platform RCS messaging.”