The former iOS developer of Signal, a popular open source encrypted messaging app, has joined Apple as an intern on the CoreOS team.
I’m delighted to announce that I accepted an offer to be working with the CoreOS security team at Apple this summer.
— Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) February 25, 2016
Frederic Jacobs was the lead developer for Signal on Apple’s mobile platform, iOS. Signal is widely regarded as one of the most secure messaging applications, having been heralded by the academic cryptography community for its clean and open source code, as well as by high-profile privacy advocates like NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Messages on Signal are encrypted “end to end,” meaning they can only be read by the sender and the intended recipient. Apple’s iMessage is also end-to-end encrypted, but it’s not open source.
This pickup comes as Apple is currently fighting a court order asking the company to create a specialized version of its mobile operating system that would bypass security measures on the phone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. If Apple is compelled to create the specialized version of iOS, the FBI may be able to “brute force” the passcode on Farook’s phone.
In a letter to customers following the court order, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the government has asked Apple to create a backdoor into the iPhone, which would degrade the privacy and security of all iPhone users.
Signal is created by Open Whisper Systems, which was founded by Moxie Marlinspike, the former head of product security at Twitter and an encryption expert.
Jacobs declined to comment.
Illustration via Max Fleishman
