Myco: Unlocking Polylogarithmic Accesses in Metadata-Private Messaging
Darya Kaviani, Deevashwer Rathee, Bhargav Annem, Raluca Ada Popa
IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy 2025 · Day 3 · Private and Secure Communication
In an era where end-to-end encrypted messaging has become commonplace, the focus of privacy research is increasingly shifting from message content to **metadata**. This talk, "Myco: Unlocking Polylogarithmic Accesses in Metadata-Private Messaging," presented by Darya Kaviani and her collaborators, addresses the critical yet often overlooked vulnerability of metadata leakage in secure communication systems. While applications like Signal and WhatsApp effectively shield message content from adversaries, the "who, when, and how many" details of communication remain exposed, offering a rich vein of intelligence for sophisticated attackers like the NSA, as highlighted by chilling quotes from former intelligence officials.