Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Skype, along with Snapchat and WeChat, have been reported as the least secure messaging platforms according to research carried out by Amnesty International.
The research involved messaging apps from 11 firms and each was ranked based on how they use encryption to uphold user privacy. Microsoft was on the bottom of the list courtesy of its messaging and video calling application, Skype. The score sheet was an overall 100 points and the highest scoring apps were WhatsApp and Messenger, both from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). WhatsApp and Messenger individually scored 73 points. The WeChat app from Tencent had the lowest score with absolutely no points.
“Despite Microsoft’s strong policy commitment to human rights, it is still using a weak form of encryption on Skype, scoring 40 and leaving it four places from the bottom,” stated Amnesty International.
A few other messaging services previously thought to be very secure were ranked below 50. BBM from BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) was surprisingly along the bottom part of the ranking with 20 points. Popular messaging app Snapchat was also ranked low with 26 points. Sherif Elsayed-Ali, the head of the Technology and Human Rights team at Amnesty international stated that most messaging services are not as private as people think. He also added that most of the messaging services are under constant threat of spying from government authorities and cybercriminals.
“The future of privacy and free speech online depends to a very large extent on whether tech companies provide services that protect our communications or serve them up on a plate for prying eyes,” stated Elsayed-Ali.
Amnesty claims that encryption amounts to a human rights issue. The organization believes that some of the tech companies still use weak forms of encryption which puts communication between millions of people at risk of being compromised. Amnesty International believes that end-to-end encryption is the way to go.
Microsoft stock closed the latest trading session at $61.00.