A secured communication mobile application for Android and iOS platforms based on the AES-256 military grade encryption technology called Zipit Chat, has been launched and now live for commercial download.
It is a product developed 100% by Malaysian R & D engineers in Malaysia and it is collaboration between mTouche Technology Bhd. and Celcom.
As part of the campaign to the official launch, Celcom did a Hackerton to entice the interest on the feature of this applications, which is about secured messaging. The online campaign reached 18 million viewers and 17,000 registered to participate in the challenge to hack the messages, which provided a prize of RM100,000 in cash.
None succeeded!
Hence, the encryption feature of the secured messaging application which enables subscribers to have a tamper-proof communication through sms, chat, e mail and voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP), is the main selling point of the online product.
How it works
- In one-to-one communication, there is a mutual key exchange between sender and receiver using RSA algorithm.
Any 3rd party will not be able to decrypt the messages without the key. All messages communicated via Zipit Chat use 256-bit AES encryption technology.
- In Group chats, a mutual shared key within a group is used to encrypt and decrypt messages communicated via the group channel.
- In all the communication, only encrypted data will be sent via the line. Even if there is an interception during transmission, all they get is gibberish because they do not have the key to decrypt the actual message.
- Zipit Chat also enables secure notes feature where users can keep their sensitive data encrypted in the application.
Think of it as a physical safe that keeps all the private and confidential files, locked with a padlock, and the rightful owner has the lock to open it.
Soon, it is expected that Celcom would bundle the application in some of the plans.
The launch and officiating of the Zipit Chat was done by Celcom Chief Marketing Officer Zalman Affendy Zainal Abidin and the Branding Team. The event was graced by Celcom CEO Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly.
This is a new milestone for Malaysians to communicate securely and with a lot of comfort.
The "thirteen million plus Ringgit" guy rambles.... 
Do I see BD in the photo there? Waaa, you are involved in hi tech stuff, too. Good for you, BD.
That advert says “Absolutely Unhackable”. Good. Also good to hear the Chinese President now visiting US answering WSJ’s question on cybercrimes that “China does not hack.” Well, maybe with tongue in cheek.
Looks like unhackable systems is the in-thing now. The other day BD puts out a post on another system, didn’t you. Looks like it’s collaborative effort with Celcom. Well done to Malaysian IT experts.
What intrigues me is the possibility that there are blokes out there who’d start to think out how to hack the latest unhackable system and trying to do it soon after the system is out in the market. Is that possibility real?
Excuse me, but am not trying to throw a wet blanket or anything, just wondering……..for discussion sake ….. and a chance for those concerned to drum in the finer points of their secure system.
Thank you very much.
Come to think about it, yes that chap without the suit close resembles like BD the blogger.
However, that has yet to be confirmed.
We believe he is someone involved in this project. We think he is with the company which is the technological partner for Celcom in this Zipit Chat program.
Wile not meaning to cast any aspersion on the efforts of our Malaysian IT experts like proven above, It also seems to me that the bigger the population numbers, the better the chances of the country excelling in IT. Because more people are engaged in it. But I’m willing to be proven wrong in this matter.
A guy familiar with Silicone Valley in US was on TV the other day saying China with 1.3 billion population may even be more advanced than the US with a 300 million population in that regard. And that India with 1.1 billion population has been trying hard but cannot overtake China technology-wise by quite a long shot.
The US of course sub-contracts a lot of their IT work to China and the highly egoistic often nonsensical Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has been hitting at Obama for allowing that, wanting to make America “great again”.
Whatever it is, for a population of 27 million, Malaysia should be proud of those who come out with the unhackable system that BD talks about above.
Wikipedia US information says the AES or Advanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2001.
AES has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used world wide. AES-256 military grade encryption technology means it’s the same grade as that used by the military, presumably in the US and world wide.
Good to know that a system as good as that is now available for public use in this country. Made available by a local company, too – Celcom. Enjoy it’s use folks.
What I’m curious to know is what if crooks and criminals of all sorts use those. I presume the authorities would have the means to combat them. Maybe by ways other than breaking into the encryption code. I would have to read more about this. I am aware that the authorities would keep their capabilities secret for obvious reasons.
Zipit Chat mobile application is available now for commercial for bundled plans by Celcom and downloads, for othe plans and services from other Telcos within Malaysia.
At the moment, for Android platforms. In a month time, iOS.
It is like a knife. A double edge tool. It could be used for good.So could it be, for evil and crime.