+Instant messaging (IM) is an increasingly popular mode of communication +on the Internet. Although it is used for personal and private +conversations, it is not at all a private medium. Not only are all of +the messages unencrypted and unauthenticated, but they are all +routedthrough a central server, forming a convenient interception point +for an attacker. Users would benefit from being able to have truly +private conversations over IM, combining the features of encryption, +authentication, deniability, and forward secrecy, while working within +their existing IM infrastructure. +
++In this talk, I will discuss "Off-the-Record Messaging" (OTR), a widely +used software tool for secure and private instant messaging. I will +outline the properties of Useful Security and Privacy Technologies that +motivated OTR's design, compare it to other IM security mechanisms, and +talk about its ongoing development directions. +
++Ian Goldberg is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the +University of Waterloo, where he is a founding member of the +Cryptography, Security, and Privacy (CrySP) research group. He holds a +Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he discovered +serious weaknesses in a number of widely deployed security systems, +including those used by cellular phones and wireless networks. He also +studied systems for protecting the personal privacy of Internet users, +which led to his role as Chief Scientist at Zero-Knowledge Systems (now +known as Radialpoint), where he commercialized his research as the +Freedom Network. +
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