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Fri, June 2, 2023 | 23:19
Daum Kakao to bring in new encryption
다음카카오, 뒤늦은 공식사과로 검열논란 수습 부심
Posted : 2014-10-08 17:26
Updated : 2014-10-09 09:40
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By Yoon Sung-won

Daum Kakao said Wednesday it will introduce a stronger privacy protection feature in its app by the end of the year. The move comes as a countermeasure to prevent more subscribers from leaving KakaoTalk amid privacy concerns triggered by the news that its user data was under the authorities' scrutiny.

The company apologized to its customers saying, "We are deeply sorry for causing confusion and anxiety with our service. We will take every possible measure to prioritize the protection of user information in the future."

Daum Kakao said the new "privacy mode" will allow users to delete confirmed messages and have secret one-on-one conversations using new technology called "end-to-end encryption."

It also explained this new mode will fundamentally make it impossible for the authorities to inspect conversations from the server, with or without a warrant.

The amount of days that conversations are stored on its servers has also been reduced to a maximum of three days, down from seven, starting today.

KakaoTalk has been embroiled in controversy after Rep. Jung Jin-woo of the small opposition Labor Party revealed that the prosecution recently examined his KakaoTalk conversations with 3,000 acquaintances who gathered at a rally to demand a probe into the Sewol ferry disaster near the President's office.

Added to a previous announcement by the prosecution that it will strengthen real-time censorship on cyberspace, the news made Korean users to migrate to the German-based service Telegram, which its developers claim guarantees more heavily-encrypted and safer conversations.

The company admitted Wednesday that a total of 147 cases of conversation monitoring were requested by the government, adding that all the requests were accompanied with a warrant.

Meanwhile, Telegram, a German mobile instant messenger application, is reaping the benefits from the scandal. The company has experienced a surging inflow of Korean subscribers seeking a safer and more private service free from cyber censorship by the government.

An official at the Berlin-based Telegram said on Tuesday, "Over 1.5 million new South Korean subscribers downloaded and registered for the application last week," which added to its more than 50 million users around the world as of September.

It also ranked at the top of the popular free apps list on Apple's Appstore in Korea and 12th place on Google's Play app market as of Wednesday.

Telegram is a mobile instant-messenger application built by Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who were protesting against censorship by the Russian government.

Since its launch in August last year, Telegram has claimed the messages on the app are "heavily encrypted and can self-destruct." It also said its servers are spread worldwide to make it safer from hacker attacks. All these mean that it will be far more difficult for the Korean authorities to track and snoop into private conversations on Telegram.

"We have not shared our users' private information with a third party so far," a Telegram official said.

On Tuesday, it launched an updated version of Telegram app that supports Korean language.

KakaoTalk saw the number of its users decreased last week. This fueled the suspect that the "cyber exile" may be actually happening.

According to data by Rankey.com, an online market researcher, Tuesday, the average number of daily users of KakaoTalk was about 26 million last week, down 1.8 percent from a week earlier.

KakaoTalk's lead in the domestic market has remained undisturbed in recent years despite continuous challenges by other services such as Naver's Line and Whatsapp, the world's biggest mobile instant messenger.


다음카카오, 뒤늦은 공식사과로 검열논란 수습 부심

진솔한 반성과 사과문 발표...블로그에선 '검열 논란'에 대한 오해 불식시도

'입이 있어도 아무 말을 할 수 없다'

검찰과 경찰의 카카오톡 검열 논란으로 제기된 이른바 '사이버 망명' 열풍에 위기를 맞은 다음카카오가 8일 뒤늦게 공식 사과문을 발표하고, 재발방지 대책을 제시하는 등 사태수습에 부심하고 있다.

다음카카오는 8일 카카오톡 공지사항에 비교적 긴 내용의 공식 사과문을 올리고 메신저 카카오톡(카톡)의 새로운 사생활 보호 기능 도입 방침을 밝히는 등 재발방지책 마련에 나섰다.

다음카카오가 이같이 공개 사과와 재발 방지 대책을 마련한 것은 최근 제기된 검찰 등 수사기관의 '카카오톡 검열' 논란으로 회원들이 카톡을 탈퇴하고, 독일 모바일 메신저 텔레그램으로 옮겨가는 등 '사이버 망명' 바람이 불면서 한국의 대표 메신저 위상이 흔들릴 조짐을 보이는데 따른 위기의식이 작용했다고 볼 수 있다.

특히 이번 사이버 망명 현상의 이면에는 지난 1일 합병법인 출범을 기념한 기자간담회에서 최고 경영진들이 카톡 검열 논란에 대해 확고한 재발방지 의지를 표시하지 않아 많은 네티즌들이 비판의 목소리를 높이면서 다음카카오가 출범직후부터 신뢰성의 위기를 겪은 점이 결정적으로 작용한 것으로 풀이된다.

다음카카오는 이같은 상황을 반영하듯 8일 공개한 사과문에서 솔직하게 실수를 인정하고 '머리를 조아리는' 내용을 담는 등 비장한 의지도 엿보였다.

다음카카오는 먼저 '제일 중요하다는 우리 이용자 정보 보호를 외치며 그저 외부 침입자들로부터 법과 울타리만 잘 지키면 된다고, 할 수 있는 일 열심히 해왔다고 안주했었던 것 같다'며 이것이 첫 번째 드려야 할 사과라고 적었다.

두 번째 사과 내용은 검열 논란 이슈에 대한 부적절한 대응과 관련됐다. 이에 대해서는 '최근의 검열, 영장 등의 이슈들에 대해 진솔하게, 적절하게 말씀드리지 못해 많은 이용자의 마음을 불안하고 불편하게 만들었다'며 '여러분이 공감하지 못할 저희만의 논리에 빠져 있었던 것 같다'고 자책했다.

그러면서 '우리의 기반이고, 지지해주던 우리 편이라 생각했던 이용자들로부터 신뢰를 잃는 것 같아 더 아프다'고 고백했다.

이어 다음카카오는 '그래도 카카오팀이 잘할 수 있는 서비스 분야부터 '마음놓고 대화할 수 있는 환경'을 만들려는 의지를 보여 드리고 해야 할 일을 하는 것이 가장 중요하단 생각에 공감한다'며 '외양간 프로젝트'를 가동하기로 했다고 설명했다.

'외양간 프로젝트'는 다음카카오가 이날 연내 도입하겠다고 밝힌 '프라이버시 모드' 기능 개발 사업을 일컫는다.

'소 잃고 외양간 고친다'는 속담에 착안, 이용자들의 신뢰를 잃기 전에 카톡이라는 '외양간'을 고치겠다는 의지를 담았다.

다만 다음카카오는 사생활 보호 기능 개발에 치중한 나머지 여타 서비스 출시가 늦어질 것을 우려했다.

그래서 마지막 사과 내용도 '이(프라이버시 모드 도입) 과정에서 불편을 겪거나 급하다 하시던 다른 편의장치들이 다소 늦게 탑재될까 봐 걱정도 됩니다'라며 '이것이 세 번째 드리게 될 사과입니다'라고 양해를 구했다.

사과문 말미에는 ''우리 이래도 괜찮을까? 하는 두려움도 있습니다. 하지만 외양간을 방치하고 서비스 근간인 우리 편의 신뢰를 잃는 것이 더 두렵습니다'라고 적었다. 다른 무엇보다 이용자 신뢰를 지키는 게 먼저라는 걸 강조한 것으로 풀이된다.

다음카카오는 이날 오후 공식블로그를 통해 '검열 논란'과 관련한 내용을 총 21개 카테고리로 나누고 이를 문답식으로 정리해 설명했다.

사생활 보호 기능 출시 계획 발표를 계기로 그간 검열 논란에 휩싸이면서 생긴 오해를 조기에 불식하려는 뜻으로 읽힌다.

'카카오톡 서버는 암호화해서 저장하지 않는다면서요?', '카카오톡을 실시간 모니터링하는 게 가능한가요?', '최근 검찰 대책회의에 카카오가 참석했다던데 이는 검열에 협조한다는 뜻 아닌가요?' 등 예민한 내용도 가감 없이 올라와 있다.

특히 '현재까지 얼마나 많은 감청 요청이 접수됐나요?'라는 질문에 다음카카오는 '감청 요청은 국가안보 등 극히 제한적인 조건에서 법원으로부터 발부되는 영장에 의해 집행된다'며 '실제로 카카오톡에 대한 감청 요청은 2013년 86건, 2014년 상반기 61건이 있었다'고 공개했다. (연합뉴스)
Emailyoonsw@ktimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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