Apple and Google are preparing to roll out encrypted RCS messaging to cross-platform communication, finally addressing one of the biggest issues with RCS.
RCS is the successor to SMS, offering modern features like read receipts, high-quality media, group management, file sharing, encryption, and more, making it competitive with iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal. While RCS has been growing in popularity in the Android ecosystem, Apple only recently adopted RCS as a replacement for SMS when communicating between iOS and Android.
Unfortunately, while RCS offers end-to-end encryption (E2EE) among Android devices, cross-platform communication has lacked E2EE, although Apple and Google have been working to overcome that hurdle. According to the GSMA, that work has come to fruition, with RCS encryption now supporting cross-platform communication.
“In my last post, ‘RCS Now in iOS: a New Chapter for Mobile Messaging‘, I celebrated the integration of Rich Communication Services (RCS) with Apple’s iOS 18, a culmination of years of collaboration across mobile operators, device manufacturers, and technology providers,” writes Tom Van Pelt, GSMA Technical Director. “Today, I am pleased to announce the next milestone: the availability of new GSMA specifications for RCS that include end-to-end encryption (E2EE) based on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol.
“Most notably, the new specifications define how to apply MLS within the context of RCS. These procedures ensure that messages and other content such as files remain confidential and secure as they travel between clients. That means that RCS will be the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between client implementations from different providers. Together with other unique security features such as SIM-based authentication, E2EE will provide RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for stronger protection from scams, fraud and other security and privacy threats.”
In a statement to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Shane Bauer said the company will move quickly to implement the new features.
“End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA,” said Bauer. “We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.”
The importance of encrypted communication was underscored by hack of U.S. telecoms by the Beijing-backed Salt Typhoon group. In the wake of that attack, one in which the hackers could access all calls and SMS messages sent via those telecoms, the FBI and CISA recommended people use encrypted communication platforms.
“Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication,” said Jeff Greene, an executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA. “Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible.”
While WhatsApp is the default method of communication in many regions around the world—and offers E2EE—iMessage and text messages are still the default in the U.S. As a result, cross-platform RCS encryption is an important step toward securing individuals’ communication.
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