Today’s Big Story

How Secure Are Texts?

FBI warns Americans to keep their text messages encrypted

We’re talking about green bubbles? Again? It feels like this has been the tech story of the month, bubbling up and overshadowing the long-awaited releases of Apple’s iOS 18.2 and Samsung’s One UI 7 beta. The headlines are still coming, pushing advice on a user base now equal parts concerned and confused. After all, it’s not often that a piece of FBI advice triggers a Snopes fact check.

But the agency's urgent message this month to Americans, often summarized as essentially “stop texting”, surprised many consumers. The warning from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlighted vulnerabilities in text messaging systems that millions of Americans use every day. The problem, they say, is texts from iPhone to Android or vice versa are not securely encrypted. Every second, 270,000 messages are fired off globally, and authorities say the Chinese government wants to see what you’re texting.

The U.S. believes hackers affiliated with China’s government, dubbed Salt Typhoon, are waging a “broad and significant cyber-espionage campaign” to infiltrate commercial telecoms and steal users’ data—and in isolated cases, to record phone calls, a senior FBI official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said during a Dec. 3 briefing call.

The new guidance may have surprised consumers—but not security experts. “People have been talking about things like this for years in the computer security community,” Jason Hong, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, told NPR. “You should not rely on these kinds of unencrypted communications because of this exact reason: There could be snoopers in lots of infrastructure.”

For everyday consumers, the simplest way to send encrypted messages or make encrypted calls is to use communications apps like Signal or WhatsApp that have implemented end-to-end encryption between other Signal and WhatsApp users. With end-to-end encryption, every user of an encrypted chat app holds the unique code to unscramble a message sent to that account. Importantly, the corporate owner and the operator of the app don’t have access to that key, so they won’t be able to unscramble an encrypted message even if a court demands it or it is hacked.

What's Happening Up in Canada?

New border rules, turmoil and calls for Trudeau to resign

It’s comforting to know that every country can be as messy as America, right? Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces growing pressure to resign from his own Liberal Party after his top minister abruptly quit and criticized his handling of the budget. Trudeau has led the country for nearly a decade, but has become widely unpopular in recent years over a wide range of issues, including the high cost of living and rising inflation.

Meanwhile, Canadian officials unveiled a spending plan to bolster border security in an effort to allay concerns after President-elect Donald Trump pledged to slap a 25% tariff on imports from its North American trade partners until the countries limit the flow of migrants and illegal drugs. According to the Wall Street Journal, averting the tariff is crucial for the Canadian economy. Most economists predict a recession should Trump fulfill his 25% tariff pledge.

As Vox points out, the tiff over tariffs has exposed the Canadian government’s fragility—especially as it prepares to confront an incoming, adversarial, Trump administration. Trudeau has been the leader of Canada, for nearly 10 years now, and of his Liberal Party for nearly 12. That’s quite a long time to be in power in the Canadian context. In that time, Trudeau’s popularity has taken a beating; although he started out with a 63% approval rating, that has dropped to 28% in recent polls. But there’s no mechanism for Trudeau’s party to force him out in the short-term. He could resign, or his party could be forced from power by a “no confidence” vote in Parliament that would trigger an election that would very likely favor the opposing Conservative Party.

2024 Was Earth’s Hottest Year on Record

Recent climate change records defy scientific explanation

Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record—second only to 2023—making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a new report by European climate service Copernicus.

Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record—Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit—so scientists were already anticipating that 2024 would set a new annual record as well.

Even more distressing, experts warn that the climate scenarios that form the basis for countries' decarbonization goals could be faulty, with higher warming levels and greater societal consequences likely to arrive sooner than expected. Copernicus, in fact, is out front in saying that 2024 may end up close to 1.6°C (2.88°F) above the pre-industrial average, exceeding the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious target for a single year. Separately, NOAA found that so far this year, six continents have had their warmest temperatures on record, while Asia has ranked second-warmest.

The Most Downloaded App

An ultra-cheap shopping app is on top … again

Temu is the most downloaded iPhone app of the year—again. You might remember, the ultra-cheap online shopping app was also Apple’s most popular app in America in 2023. On this year’s list, Temu is followed by Threads, TikTok (get it while you can) and ChatGPT.

Temu’s rise to global shopping prominence is impressive, and it comes at the expense of Amazon, previously the world’s best-known online shopping portal. The U.S.-based retail giant has been so unsettled by the market shift toward Chinese-owned apps like Temu and Shein that in November, it launched its own low-cost storefront featuring electronics, apparel and other products priced at under $20. The fact that Amazon’s app isn’t even in Apple’s top 10 downloads is telling, and suggests that in 2025 apps like Temu and Shein may again reign supreme.

According to TechCrunch, Meta’s apps are still present in 2024’s overall most-downloaded list but have been dropping in ranks in recent years. Although Threads ranked well at No. 2, Instagram and WhatsApp came in at No. 6 and 7, respectively, followed by CapCut (also owned by TikTok parent ByteDance), then YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Shein, and then Facebook at No. 13.

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