More misdirection......
In order to arrest this person in Switzerland, two things needed to be in place:
1. A server between a sender and a recipient (in this case the Proton server)
2. An account identifiable to one (or two) specific people (because the people used a debit or credit card to pay for their service)
There are lessons here for anyone who wants to maximise their privacy:
3. Wherever possible use end points which are not associated with your own account (e.g. internet cafes, hijacked WiFi, etc)
4. Make sure that your end device is anonymous (throw away email addresses, disguised MAC addresses, burner phones, etc)
5. Attempt to make sure that your messaging is going to others who also use rule #4 (so that your "social network" is not easy to build)
6. Use peer-to-peer messaging (see Ricochet. So no servers, no "cloud")
Note that the "security" associated with "end-to-end encryption" does not appear in items #3 through #6. These rules are intended to protect your identity.
Of course, if you can use private encryption BEFORE any of your messages enter ANY channel.....this will make the CONTENT of your messages harder for the snoops.
But the idea that the Proton service (or the Telegraph service) provides "limited security" is simply the latest piece of marketing misdirection.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
