CryptoParty: When that hotline bling, who’s listening?

Pretty much every phone is capable of being hacked all the time, Ed Snowden continues to pop off on Twitter about government surveillance, and the cyber world continues to be an unseen moloch with the power of your personal information.
So head down to the Brooklyn Public Library Monday night to learn about how to communicate on your cellphone securely at CryptoParty NYC, led by Brooklyn cybersecurity expert David Huerta.

Little preview for what's in store for @CryptoPartyNYC tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/SYgJjHvR0K

— David Huerta (@huertanix) November 9, 2015

“Messenger apps like Snapchat and Whatsapp are among some of the most popular apps for smartphones, but not all messenger apps are secure,” the event invite reads. “Drop into this CryptoParty to learn what features make a better protected messenger app for private communication.”

Next #cryptoparty at BPL @BKLYN_IC will be on secure messaging apps. Here's one of our faves: https://t.co/3IMJTtpNd0.

— CryptoParty NYC (@CryptoPartyNYC) November 5, 2015

Whisper Systems has a product called Signal, which allows you to make secure calls to other people using the service.
“Signal uses your existing number, doesn’t require a password, and leverages privacy-preserving contact discovery to immediately display which of your contacts are reachable with Signal,” its site says. “Under the hood, it uses ZRTP, a well-tested protocol for secure voice communication.”
Sometimes these events can get written off as paranoid or marginal, and sometimes the people most into them have issues with paranoia. But it’s not weird to not want anyone else listening to your calls. It’s weird that that could even be considered weird.