Apple and Google Launch Beta Rollout of End‑To‑End encrypted RCS messaging across iOS and Android

Apple and Google have officially begun rolling out end‑to‑end encrypted Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging in beta for iPhone and Android users, marking a historic upgrade to cross‑platform texting security. Starting with iOS 26.5 and the latest Google Messages, conversations between iPhone and Android devices will now be encrypted by default, ensuring that only sender and receiver can read messages.

What’s New in RCS Encryption

• Cross‑platform security: For the first time, iPhone‑to‑Android RCS chats are end‑to‑end encrypted, preventing carriers, tech companies, or third parties from accessing messages.
• Default protection: Encryption is automatically enabled for new and existing RCS conversations; users will see a lock icon in chats to confirm security.
• Beta rollout: Available now for iPhone users on iOS 26.5 with supported carriers and Android users on the latest Google Messages app.

Industry Collaboration

• Apple & Google partnership: Both companies worked with the GSMA to integrate encryption into the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 standard.
• Security protocol: The system is built on the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, a modern cryptographic framework designed for scalable, secure messaging.
• Statements from leaders: Google’s Android head Samer Samat called it “Big news” and a “terrific milestone.” Sundar Pichai and Rick Osterloh praised the achievement. Apple emphasized that iMessage remains fully encrypted.

Features Beyond Encryption

• High‑quality media sharing (photos, videos)
• Typing indicators & read receipts
• Improved group chats
• Cross‑platform reactions and inline replies

Comparison: SMS vs RCS vs iMessage

SMS	RCS	iMessage
Basic text only	Rich media, group chats, reactions	Rich media, stickers, apps
No encryption	End‑to‑end encryption (beta rollout)	End‑to‑end encryption (default)
Carrier‑dependent	Internet‑based, cross‑platform	Apple ecosystem only
No read receipts	Read receipts, typing indicators	Read receipts, typing indicators

Key Takeaways for Users

• Update required: iPhone users must install iOS 26.5; Android users need the latest Google Messages.
• Carrier support: Both sender and receiver must be on carriers supporting the latest RCS profile.
• Gradual rollout: Encryption will expand automatically to all conversations over time.

Encryption Startup Pantherun Raises $12M to Fuel Global Expansion and Post-Quantum R&D

Srinivas Shekar, CEO and Co-Founder, Pantherun

Pantherun Technologies, a data encryption company that safeguards information across any device, today announced it has raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Sahasrar Capital Investors and Lucky Investment Managers, with participation from existing investors Capital 2B (Info Edge), 8X Ventures, and Real Time Angel Fund (GrowX) and new investment from Founders Collective Fund.

The capital will enable Pantherun to:

• Scale internationally, building out sales and partnerships across North America, Europe, and select APAC markets
• Accelerate product development, advancing its patented, industrial-grade encryption platform for high-volume, low-latency use cases by using 25% of this fund raise for R&D
• Launch new offerings tailored for device-agnostic deployments across endpoints, edge, cloud, and OT environments

“Data has become the operating system of modern life. It sits on every device, travels across every network, and powers every decision,” said Mr. Srinivas Shekar, Co-founder and CEO, Pantherun Technologies. “This funding is a pivotal step in our journey. We will expand globally, deepen our R&D, and bring new products to market that make strong encryption simple to deploy and consistent across devices.”

“Enterprises need encryption that keeps up with device growth and regulatory obligations without adding operational drag and Pantherun offers unique data encryption enabling edge devices to have zero latency secured communication at affordable cost” said Jeevan Patwa, of Sahasrar Capital Investors. “Pantherun’s architecture is built for scale and speed, and we are confident in the team’s ability to lead this category.”

This funding comes at a point where device proliferation, stricter data protection rules, and sustained breach costs are forcing enterprises to encrypt by default. Market growth sits in the mid-teens, ransomware is trending upward in double digits, and connected devices are nearing 20 billion worldwide. Pantherun will use the capital to advance its patented, real-time encryption stack, expand internationally with focused sales and partnerships, and launch products that deliver secure, scalable, and device-agnostic protection without performance trade-offs.

Pantherun’s Core Technology

• Capabilities:Adaptive Keyless Encryption: AI-generated keys (128/192/256-bit) created independently at source and destination; no key exchange or code changes required
• Seamless Deployment: Inline agents, gateways, and FPGA/chip accelerators protect data in motion and at rest without app modifications
• Zero-Trust by Design: Fine-grained access controls, mutual authentication, and least-privilege enforced by default
• Observability & Compliance: Native logs, metrics, and audit trails integrate with SIEM and data operations to track coverage, anomalies, and drift
• Future-Ready Security: Supports post-quantum encryption (384/512-bit) and advanced protections for ML, big data, and homomorphic encryption use cases
• Versatile Industry Applications: Secures Ethernet/automotive networks, IoT devices, surveillance cameras, cloud/data centers, and SaaS platforms.

Founded with a mission to make data protection seamless and universal, Pantherun has developed solutions that secure information across devices, networks, and applications without compromising performance. The company’s proprietary technologies address critical challenges faced by enterprises, governments, and consumers, where data breaches and cyberattacks are on the rise.

About Pantherun Technologies

Founded in 2019 by Srinivas Shekar (CEO) and Tiffany Chan (COO) with the mission to make strong encryption universal, Pantherun Technologies Pvt Ltd is a leading data encryption company providing innovative solutions to safeguard data on any device. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Pantherun specializes in real-time encryption, making data breaches significantly more challenging. With a vision to make encryption accessible and affordable, Pantherun is committed to securing industries and users worldwide. As an Indian technology company, Pantherun Technologies is dedicated to "Securing The World."

India-US Researchers Creates Quantum-Safe Video Encryption Framework to Tackle Deepfake-like Threats

Researchers from India and the USA have created a quantum-safe video encryption framework to tackle modern cyber threats like deepfakes and data manipulation. This innovative framework combines quantum computing's inherent randomness with advanced SSL-encrypted HTTP transmission, providing unmatched security and efficiency.

The research, led by experts from Florida International University and the National Forensic Sciences University, has been featured in IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics.

This framework integrates quantum encryption with classical video transmission methods to enhance security against evolving cyber threats.

This breakthrough is expected to significantly enhance video communication security, especially for sensitive communications in defense, government, and military operations.

Dr. Naveen Kumar Chaudhary from the National Forensic Sciences University in India collaborated with Dr. S.S. Iyengar and Dr. Yashas Hariprasad from Florida International University has led to the development of this quantum-safe encryption framework.

A promising step towards a more secure digital future, the framework is based on hybrid quantum video encryption, which uniquely combines the power of quantum encryption with classical video transmission techniques, ensuring robust protection against potential quantum computing threats.

The Quantum Encryption utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics to create encryption keys that are virtually impossible to crack using classical computing methods.

The framework incorporates advanced SSL-encrypted HTTP transmission to maintain high-quality video communication. It Merges the strengths of both quantum and classical encryption, offering a dual layer of security.

It has varied cybersecurity applications with an aims to protect sensitive video communications, particularly in sectors like defense, government, and military.

Designed to withstand the advancements in quantum computing, making it a long-term solution for secure video transmission, the framework is a significant leap forward in cybersecurity, addressing the growing concerns over deepfakes and data manipulation.

It's a promising development that could reshape the landscape of secure digital communication. The research has been funded by U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory and U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency of the United States federal government. 

Tackling Deepfakes

The quantum-safe encryption framework tackles deepfake threats by leveraging the inherent randomness of quantum computing and advanced SSL-encrypted HTTP transmission. Here's how it works:

1. Pseudorandom Keys: The framework uses quantum-generated pseudorandom keys to encrypt video streams. These keys are extremely difficult to predict or replicate, making it challenging for deepfake creators to manipulate the video content.

2. Quantum-Safe Protocols: Individual frames of the video are secured using quantum-safe protocols, ensuring that each frame is protected against tampering.

3. Enhanced Security: By combining quantum encryption with classical methods, the framework provides a dual layer of security, significantly outperforming current methods.

4. Authenticity and Integrity: The encryption ensures the authenticity and integrity of video communications, making it difficult for malicious actors to create convincing deepfakes.

This approach is particularly effective in sensitive sectors like defense, government, and military operations, where the authenticity of video communications is crucial.

Telegram CEO Criticises WhatsApp Over Encryption Claims, Security Backdoors

Messaging app Telegram's founder Pavel Durov has launched a scathing attack on rival WhatsApp alleging that the latter's systems are not as secure as made out to be.

In a blogpost titled 'Why using WhatsApp is dangerous', Durov said WhatsApp marketed end-to-end encryption as some magic incantation that alone is supposed to automatically make all communications secure. "However, this technology is not a silver bullet that can guarantee you absolute privacy by itself," he said.

WhatsApp declined to comment to the allegations levelled by Durov.

Durov claimed that Telegram's 'Secret Chats' is significantly more secure than any competing means of communication.

"Don't let yourself be fooled by the tech equivalent of circus magicians who'd like to focus your attention on one isolated aspect all while performing their tricks elsewhere. They want you to think about end-to-end encryption as the only thing you have to look at for privacy. The reality is much more complicated," the executive wrote.

Referring to the alleged hacking of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos' phone, Durov said last week it became clear that backdoor - which had been flagged by him a few months ago - had been exploited to extract private communications and photos of Jeff Bezos "who unfortunately relied on WhatsApp".

"Given the gravity of the situation, one would expect Facebook/WhatsApp to apologise and pledge not to plant backdoors in their apps going forward. Instead, they announced that Apple, not WhatsApp, was to blame," he said.

Facebook's Vice President claimed that iOS, rather than WhatsApp, had been hacked. Durov argued that while he was not an Apple fanboy, the issue of backdoor in this particular case was not related to iOS device, but rather a WhatsApp-specific matter.

"Had Jeff Bezos relied on Telegram instead of WhatsApp, he wouldn't have been blackmailed by people who compromised his communications," he claimed.

Telegram had rolled out end-to-end encryption for mass communication years before WhatsApp followed suit, he said adding that his platform had been mindful not only of the strengths, but also the limitations of this technology.

Other aspects of a messaging app can render end-to-end encryption useless, Durov claimed.

The Telegram CEO claimed that enforcement agencies are not too happy with encryption, and often force app developers to secretly plant vulnerabilities in their apps.

"I know that because we've been approached by some of them – and refused to cooperate. As a result, Telegram is banned in some countries where WhatsApp has no issues with authorities, most suspiciously in Russia and Iran," he said.

Durov said his statements are not based on personal preference but rather on facts that are verifiable and supported by the third-party sources.

"When it comes to security, nobody should take anybody's word for granted," he said. PTI SR MBI

Facebook Vice President Arrested In Brazil For Refusing to reveal WhatsApp encryption

Brazilian Federal Police have arrested Facebook Regional Vice President Diego Dzoda, according to TechNewsWorld. Dzoda has allegedly refused to provide data, from the popular chat-app WhatsApp, wanted in connection with a drug trafficking investigation.

The arrest, as well as a high-profile feud between the FBI and Apple, highlights a trend of adversarial behavior between law enforcement and tech firms.

Government agencies are increasingly in unfamiliar territory when requesting data. Agencies face unusually powerful players, like Apple or Facebook, and unique scenarios where laws and precedents may not exist. TechNewsWorld describes this landscape as a "digital world without borders."

Jadzia Butler, from The Center for Democracy, told TechNewsWorld, "It can take up to 10 months for a foreign law enforcement agency to get the data it needs ... So governments like Brazil and others have started to resort to extreme tactics in order to get the data."

WhatsApp has taken a stance similar to Apple by claiming it cannot cooperate with government demands.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told TheHackerNews, "We are disappointed that law enforcement took this extreme step. WhatsApp cannot provide information we do not have. We cooperated to the full extent of our ability in this case, and while we respect the important job of law enforcement, we strongly disagree with its decision."

Legal and privacy issues complicate cases of this type. Emerging reports suggest criminal activity has increasingly moved to smartphone apps.

These new apps pose challenges for police, but government agencies have a history of unconventional surveillance.

Public opinion has become increasingly supportive of tech firms following the Edward Snowden NSA leaks and subsequent information cases. In a Reuters poll, 46 perfect of respondents sided with Apple over the FBI regarding their refusal to create an iPhone backdoor.

Pew Research shows that a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents disapprove of the NSA's surveillance programs. 93 percent of respondents wanted controls over who can access their personal information.