Posts by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
(DIR) Post #AzdHHqloPMpHuHr9iC by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:40:52Z
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Instant messaging demands near-zero latency. Voice and video in particular require complex global signaling & regional relays to manage jitter and packet loss. These are things that AWS, Azure, and GCP provide at global scale that, practically speaking, others (in the western context) don’t. 5/
(DIR) Post #AzdHHrQZxnR5wiviFs by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:02Z
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This isn't ‘'renting a server.' It's leasing access to a whole sprawling, capital-intensive, technically-capable system that must be just as available in Cairo as in Capetown, just as functional in Bangkok as Berlin. Particularly given the high stakes use cases of many who rely on Signal. 6/
(DIR) Post #AzdHHsISjSXOdq8kF6 by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:13Z
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Such infrastructure costs billions and billions of dollars to provision and maintain, and it’s highly depreciable. In the case of the hyperscalers, the staggering cost is cross-subsidized by other businesses–themselves also massive platforms with significant lockin. 7/
(DIR) Post #AzdHHtKGuDZxpjzhhY by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:21Z
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Meaning that infrastructure like AWS is not something that Signal, or almost anyone else, could afford to just “spin up.” Which is why nearly everyone that manages a real-time service–from Signal, to X, to Palantir, to Mastodon–rely at least in part on services provisioned by these companies. 8/
(DIR) Post #AzdHI33GkHv7zu7GaW by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:29Z
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But even if Signal had the billions needed to recreate AWS, it’s not just about money. The talent to run these systems is rare & concentrated. The expertise, the tooling, the playbooks, the very language of modern SRE came out of these hyperscalers, and is now synonymous with 'the cloud.' 9/
(DIR) Post #AzdHIBUVMuSaAgv89Q by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:37Z
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o, yes, Signal runs on AWS. It also runs on your phone, which runs on iOS (Apple) or Android (Google). And on Dekstop, via Windows (Microsoft). Each of these presents similar dependencies on large entrenched tech companies, and concomitant barriers and risks. 10/
(DIR) Post #AzdHIJWDWQaD4Jmbvk by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:46Z
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In short, the problem here is not that Signal ‘chose’ to run on AWS. The problem is the concentration of power in the infrastructure space that means there isn’t really another choice: the entire stack, practically speaking, is owned by 3-4 players. 11/
(DIR) Post #AzdHIRQq6J2DbxKQeu by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:41:55Z
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So, Signal does what we can to provide a service w integrity in the concentrated ecosystem we're working in. We protect your comms w end-to-end encryption, so that we can use AWS and others as a highway across which to send Signal data in ways that don’t let AWS, or anyone else, gain access. 12/
(DIR) Post #AzdHIZdBcHfH2ZAP0y by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:42:04Z
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To conclude: my silver lining hope is that AWS going down can be a learning moment, in which the risks of concentrating the nervous system of our world in the hands of a few players become very clear. And that this can help us craft ways of undoing this concentration and creating real choice ❤️ 13/
(DIR) Post #AzdJtkQyc6Z1AVJFrM by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-10-27T10:55:56Z
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@troed I don't think you have a clear understanding of this space, but I hope you have a good time digging in and learning more.
(DIR) Post #B092rgnK3DrktBUO36 by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:14:17Z
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PSA: tips to protect yourself from scams on Signal. Every major comms platform has to contend w phishing, impersonation, & scams. Sadly. Signal is major, and as we've grown we've heard about more of these attacks--scammy people pretending to be something or someone to trick and abuse others. 1/
(DIR) Post #B092rpZ7ROqu5jufey by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:14:28Z
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Right now we're hearing about increased phishing attempts that go like this: Attackers pretend to be Signal or Signal Support, then message people and try to get them to hand over their verification code or Signal PIN. Information that can let the attacker take over the victim's Signal account. 2/
(DIR) Post #B092ryaVtaJc4fdPaC by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:14:44Z
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To be crystal clear: Signal will NEVER message you this way. Ever. And just like with your bank details or passwords, NEVER EVER share your Signal verification code (SMS/Call) or PIN with anyone. Ever. 3/
(DIR) Post #B092s7Pr4a8ZSDiWie by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:14:55Z
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Contact with Signal (https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/6746004451610-Contact-Us) or any Signal representative will ONLY come from an @signal.org email address, not from within the app. And again, we will never ask for your PIN or verification code. And we do not reach out proactively, only in response to your requests.4/
(DIR) Post #B092sGHK7ff0wMnLAe by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:15:05Z
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If you do receive a message you think is suspicious, report it as Spam and block the sender so that they cannot contact you again. AKA basic comms hygiene to preserve your peace. 5/
(DIR) Post #B092sPDOtcs0eo1po0 by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:15:14Z
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Finally, to help you determine the fake and malicious from the genuine, we have signposts (https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007459591-Signal-Profiles-and-Message-Requests#message_requests) in the application that can aid you in identifying fakers and phishing attempts. We also have tools like Registration Lock to help protect against account takeovers. 6/
(DIR) Post #B092sXGAzBqNbjOAF6 by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2025-11-11T18:18:30Z
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And finally finally, here's a resources you can share and reference with more about how to detect, and protect yourself from scammers and abusers: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/9932566320410-Staying-Safe-from-Phishing-Scams-and-Impersonation
(DIR) Post #B2DbIhIxBoelUUJOca by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2026-01-12T18:47:17Z
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We love to see it--community-created harm reduction infrastructure in the face of the alarming integration of AI agents into the Windows operating system (which is currently the most reckless deployment environment) <3https://github.com/zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI
(DIR) Post #B2DbIpge1cMPUHSQeu by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2026-01-12T18:50:58Z
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Why? See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ANECpNdt-4
(DIR) Post #B2DbIyEyDsZU13ZxGy by Mer__edith@mastodon.world
2026-01-12T18:51:21Z
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See also, from the wonderful dkg at ACLU:https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/secure-messaging-and-ai-dont-mix