The FBI and other agencies are encouraging people to use end-to-end encryption, citing what they say is a sustained hacking operation linked to China. In this 2021 photo, a smartphone’s screen shows messaging apps including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images
Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images
It’s not often that a piece of FBI advice triggers a Snopes fact check. But the agency’s urgent message this month to Americans, often summarized as “stop texting,” surprised many consumers.
The warning from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlighted vulnerabilities in text messaging systems that