Firm develops app that lets you encrypt messages

A new Slack extension promises to let you send memes to your co-workers in peace. Aptly called ‘Shhlack,’ the tool allows you encrypt and decrypt messages ‘on the fly’ so that only the sender and the receiver are able to read them.  Shhlack was created by information security company MindedSecurity and can be installed as […]

A new Slack extension promises to let you send memes to your co-workers in peace.

Aptly called ‘Shhlack,’ the tool allows you encrypt and decrypt messages ‘on the fly’ so that only the sender and the receiver are able to read them. 

Shhlack was created by information security company MindedSecurity and can be installed as a web browser extension or as an add-on to the Slack app.

The tool relies on pre-shared keys, or passwords, that are exchanged between users. 

However, it’s recommended that you send someone a pre-shared key outside of Slack, as doing it in the app defeats the purpose of establishing a secret message.  

After Shhlack is installed, users can begin an encrypted message by clicking on a colorful lock icon that appears next to the dialog box in Slack. 

They can also hold down the Alt and S keys to open an encrypted exchange. 

Slack servers and Slack Bots won’t be able to see any messages in clear text, according to MindedSecurity. 

Only users and bots that have the correct pre-shared key will be able to view unencrypted content. 

For people without the pre-shared key, any encrypted messages will show up as ‘encoded garbage’, the firm added. 

The tool also works in group chats with other users. 

For example, if only two users in the group have been notified of the pre-shared key, they’ll be the only two people who can view encrypted messages. 

Users with the passkey will see messages that are labeled ‘Encrypted: (First Passphrase)’ and in a distinctive dialog box.

Again, all other users in the chat will see gibberish if someone sends an encrypted message to the group.

Stefano Di Paola, MindedSecurity’s chief technology officer, said he hopes to introduce a version soon that avoids using pre-shared keys, according to Motherboard.

‘‘Shhlack is an experiment and an ongoing project, definitely not for production, at the moment, but with a very specific goal in mind: An easy-to-use solution for passing private messages without too much worries,’’ Di Paola explained.