Ever since Edward Snowden blew the lid off the NSA's mass spying programme, encryption has been put under the spotlight. Many tech companies, including Apple, have incorporated encryption into their mobile operating systems and messaging apps such as iMessage. Despite the big uptake in encryption usage, many non-technical people are confused by encryption; therefore, Mozilla has launched Codemoji to try to explain the basics of encryption in a fun way.
Codemoji is a web-based platform which lets users type up a message and encode it using an emoji cypher. The platform then lets you send out the newly encrypted message to your friends and they have to decrypt it by selecting the same emoji cypher you picked to encrypt the message in the first place.
It should be noted that Codemoji is not a serious attempt to bring secure messaging to people. It is just a way for Mozilla to portray encryption in a more familiar way, for educational purposes. Mozilla says:
“A friendly reminder: Codemoji is intended as a learning tool, not a platform for sharing personal data. Thankfully, modern encryption is much stronger than simple emoji cyphers. If you are going to be sending sensitive information, best to use a more sophisticated security tool.”
Codemoji was developed by Mozilla in collaboration with TODO, a Turin, Italy-based design agency with the goal of educating everyday internet users about cyphers and basic encryption. Mark Surman, Mozilla's Executive Director, said:
“When more people understand how encryption works and why it's important to them, more people can stand up for encryption when it matters most. This is crucial: Currently, encryption is being threatened around the world. From France to Australia to the UK, governments are proposing policies that would harm user security by weakening encryption. And in the U.S., the FBI recently asked Apple to undermine the security of its own products.”
Codemoji is just the latest step in Mozilla's advocacy campaign dubbed: Learn about encryption. Previously, Mozilla released four mini episodes which highlight the reasons that encryption is so important.
Source: Mozilla
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