전 세계적으로 미국 정보기관의 감시 활동에 대 한 우려가 커진 가운데 트위터가 이용자들을 상대로 한 감시 행위를 막기 위해 암호 화 시스템을 한층 강화하고 나섰다.
트위터 보안팀은 22일(현지시간) 공식 블로그를 통해 트위터 이용자들의 정보 보안을 강화하기 위해 '완전 순방향 비밀성'(PFS•perfect forward secrecy)이라는 새로운 암호화 방식을 도입했다고 밝혔다.
지금까지는 이용자-서버 간 트래픽을 암호화해도 서버의 비밀키를 알면 해독이 가능했으나, PFS 방식을 적용할 경우 비밀키를 알더라도 한번 묶인 정보는 풀어볼 수 없다.
관련 업계에서는 트위터의 이같은 조치에 따라 기존 암호화 기술의 틈을 이용한 이용자들의 정보 유출이 원천 차단될 것으로 기대됐다.
트위터를 비롯한 글로벌 IT 기업들은 지난 6월 미국 국가안보국(NSA)의 감시 활동이 폭로된 이후 자사 회원들의 정보 유출을 막기 위한 자구책 마련에 고심해 왔다.
페이스북과 구글, 야후 등도 트위터와 비슷한 방식의 암호화 방식을 추진하는 것으로 알려졌다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Twitter implements new security measures against outside spying
Twitter has added security measures it says will make it harder for organizations like the National Security Agency to uncover the site's data.
The microblogging site announced it was implementing a security measure known as Perfect Forward Security that uses temporary, individual keys to encrypt each Web session instead of relying on a single master key, CNET reported Friday.
First implemented by Google, Mozilla and Facebook, the technique means an outside entity can't use a discovered key to decrypt previous messages.
While the technique will create a lag time when connecting to Twitter -- about 150 milliseconds in the United States and up to a second in for users in countries more distant from Twitter's servers -- Twitter said it considers the delay a small price users will be willing to put up with for the enhanced privacy of their communications.
When news of NSA spying was leaked by Edward Snowden, it showed "there really were organizations out there in the world that were scooping up encrypted data just so they could try to attack it at a large scale," Twitter software Jeff Hodges told The New York Times. "We were like, oh, we need to actually spend some more time and really do this right." (UPI)
Twitter implements new security measures against outside spying
Twitter has added security measures it says will make it harder for organizations like the National Security Agency to uncover the site's data.
The microblogging site announced it was implementing a security measure known as Perfect Forward Security that uses temporary, individual keys to encrypt each Web session instead of relying on a single master key, CNET reported Friday.
First implemented by Google, Mozilla and Facebook, the technique means an outside entity can't use a discovered key to decrypt previous messages.
While the technique will create a lag time when connecting to Twitter -- about 150 milliseconds in the United States and up to a second in for users in countries more distant from Twitter's servers -- Twitter said it considers the delay a small price users will be willing to put up with for the enhanced privacy of their communications.
When news of NSA spying was leaked by Edward Snowden, it showed "there really were organizations out there in the world that were scooping up encrypted data just so they could try to attack it at a large scale," Twitter software Jeff Hodges told The New York Times. "We were like, oh, we need to actually spend some more time and really do this right." (UPI)