SIMSme
| SIMSme
|
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Basic data
|
|
| developer |
DPAG (2014-2019),
Brabbler AG (2019) |
| Publishing year | 2014
(Discontinuation 2019) |
| Current version | 2.6 ( Android ) May 31, 2019 2.6 ( iOS ) |
| operating system | Android , iOS |
| category | Instant messaging |
| License | proprietary |
| German speaking | Yes |
| www.sims.me | |
SIMSme was an internet-based, cross-platform instant messaging - service provided by the Deutsche Post AG has been developed. The service was available for the Android and iOS operating systems. The service was free of charge for private users. SIMSme enabled an exchange of text messages, image, video and sound files as well as location information between users of smartphones or tablets.
In March 2019 SIMSme was sold by Deutsche Post AG to the Brabbler which SIMSme June 2019 in ginlo renamed. The service was finally discontinued on December 31, 2019 due to the insolvency of Brabbler AG.
history
The service was launched on August 13, 2014. Due to the large number of users, technical problems arose during the introduction, whereupon the server capacities were significantly increased. In August 2014 SIMSme received the “Trusted App” seal from TÜViT . Half a year after its introduction, SIMSme has exceeded the limit of 1 million downloads. On February 28, 2017, SIMSme was discontinued for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile .
Sale and renaming
On March 13, 2019, the sale of SIMSme to the Munich-based Brabbler Secure Message and Data Exchange AG was announced. In the course of the sale, Deutsche Post AG takes a 10% stake in Brabbler, which already relies on encrypted communication with its own instant messaging service ginlo . In June 2019, after the takeover of the SIMSme app, the SIMSme brand was transferred to the ginlo brand family.
attitude
On November 5, Brabbler announced that the service would be discontinued by the end of 2019 at the latest because no investor was found. The District Court of Munich (Insolvency Court) opened insolvency proceedings on the company's assets by ruling on October 31, 2019 and ordered self-administration.
functionality
According to the operator, all messages are automatically encrypted by the sender and can only be decrypted again by the recipient. This so-called end-to-end encryption makes reading by third parties practically impossible. A new AES -256 key is used for each new message, which is exchanged via RSA -2048 via an OpenSSL connection.
There are also three security levels:
- red
- The contact's phone number was found in the user's local address book and the contact is using SIMSme. But the user has not yet had a chat with this contact, so that the user cannot be sure of communicating with the person they pretend to be.
- yellow
- Yellow means that both contact persons have already sent the other a message and the other person has confirmed that they know this contact.
- green
- This represents the highest level of security. The ID and the key were checked by scanning the user-specific QR code . The user can therefore be very sure of communicating with the desired person.
According to the operator, all data is stored exclusively on servers in Germany and the messages are deleted from the servers after delivery to the recipient. Since the SIMSme servers are exclusively located in Germany, the company is subject, among other things, to the German Federal Data Protection Act .
Functions
With SIMSme, text messages, image, video and sound files as well as location information could be sent and group chats with up to 100 participants could be created.
The self-destruct function was a special feature. It made it possible to send messages or media that were only visible for a certain period of time and that self-destructed after the set time. It was also possible to send messages with a time delay.
SIMSme for companies
In order to refinance the messenger for private users , SIMSme was offered for a fee as a communication tool for companies. SIMSme Business had a fixed price per user per month. SIMSme Corporate with additional features was also available on request.
According to their own information, this company version of the app was used by Volkswagen Financial Services , FC Deutsche Post and the Bavarian District Association , among others .
Similar to GoldBug
SIMSme used the same architecture as GoldBug; H. An AES key was used that was encoded via RSA and exchanged using OpenSSL . Nevertheless, there were the following differences:
- SIMSme was not open source, i. H. the information provided by the provider could not be verified.
- It was not possible to enter the AES key manually.
- The RSA key was generated by the app. So you could neither change the key length nor generate your own key pair.
criticism
Since SIMSme was not open-source , the statements ( e.g. about encryption) could not be verified and theoretically backdoors were hidden in the software.
In order to be able to register with SIMSme, it was necessary to provide a valid mobile phone number. You couldn't bypass the keyserver as with Bleep if someone didn't want to reveal their public RSA key.
SIMSme sent usage data and a device ID to the German provider of business intelligence services AdjustIO in order to collect data on user behavior. The collection of usage data could be switched on and off within the app.
The implementation of SIMSme on tablets and iPads was only a 1: 1 implementation of the mobile phone solution. As a result, the possibilities of larger displays could not be used.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Installation page for Android. In: Google Play .
- ↑ Installation page for iOS. In: App Store (iOS) .
- ↑ SIMSme Private. Accessed June 3, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Ginlo: German Whatsapp alternative is discontinued - Golem.de. Accessed December 8, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Dpdhl.com: Deutsche Post launches messenger app SIMSme, accessed on May 19, 2015.
- ↑ wiwo.de
- ↑ tagesspiegel.de
- ↑ Tuev-nord.de: Deutsche Post's secure messenger receives "Trusted App" seal from TÜViT and mediaTest digital on August 14, 2014
- ↑ Heise.de: Post-Messenger SIMSme is said to have reached one million downloads, accessed on May 19, 2015.
- ↑ Leonard Klint: SIMSme: German Postal Messenger is set. In: windowsunited.de. January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017 .
- ↑ Deutsche Post sells its Messenger SIMSme to Brabbler AG. Deutsche Post DHL Group, March 13, 2019, accessed on March 15, 2019 .
- ↑ German press agency: Brabbler AG takes action: Post sells messenger service SIMSme. Wirtschaftswoche, March 13, 2019, accessed on March 24, 2019 .
- ↑ a b contribution from heise.de. heise.de, November 5, 2019, accessed on November 5, 2019 .
- ^ Announcement of the Munich District Court. Munich District Court, November 5, 2019, accessed on November 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Security description of SIMSme ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Presseanzeiger.de: Deutsche Post SIMSme smartphone app experienced rapid growth in the Interoute Virtual Data Center on October 23, 2014, accessed on December 28, 2014.
- ↑ Deutsche Post DHL press release ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SIMSme Business Messenger - Solutions. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 6, 2017 ; accessed on February 6, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SIMSme Business Messenger - Customers. Retrieved February 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Goldbug at Wikibooks , accessed on 12 December 2016th
- ↑ Bits and so webcast to SIMSme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL2_ks1JXYk
- ↑ General Terms and Conditions of SIMSme
