Encryption has been written about on ProfHacker a few different times but, in light of the really bad week we’re having security-wise, it seems like a good opportunity to look at a relatively new open-source player in the world of encryption and cryptography that has potential to be useful in educational settings: Keybase.
Self-branded as “Crypto for everyone” and the brainchild of Chris Coyne and Max Krohn (the minds behind OKCupid and SparkNotes), Keybase began as an easier way of implementing Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) key usage and identity verification. PGP is notoriously obtuse and has had little success in gaining widespread use. Keybase set out to change that.
How does it work?
In a way, Keybase is a zero-knowledge provider of a number of different services, like how SpiderOak (which ProfHacker has highlighted previously) and Sync.com (my personal choice) know nothing about the files you save on their servers. But more on that shortly. First, Keybase’s identity proof works like this (at least, this is the order it worked for me; you may take a different path):
- I say “I’m me!” and I have this Twitter account, this Facebook page, and this website to prove it. You can trust that it’s actually me there.
- I sign up for Keybase and receive a public PGP key from them. That is, according to Keybase’s public record, also me.
- I then tweet, post, and host something on Twitter, Facebook, and my website (respectively) that demonstrates to Keybase that those are also me.
- Hey presto, identify verified in public. If ever one of those accounts is compromised I just need to revoke its trust in Keybase. The same works for individual devices like my laptop and smartphone.
This kind of public identity verification and the ability to send secure, encrypted messages to anyone is certainly a boon. That being said, Keybase has recently released a few other features that, as far as those in education are concerned, shift Keybase from the realm of interesting and novel to something potentially pretty useful.
Keybase Chat
As with all Keybase features, the chat is end-to-end encrypted, meaning while the text and files sent between you and your chat buddy read just fine, to Keybase (and anybody else) they’re just a jumbled mess. And, while the folks at Keybase admittedly also use services like WhatsApp and Signal, those have their own unique pitfalls: namely, you need to be comfortable enough with the person to give them your phone number or some other means of contacting you and, as Keybase says, “That works ok with friends and coworkers. But it sucks with people you know on the internet.”
Keybase Chat works with the identities you’ve already verified, like your Twitter handle or your Github account. All your verified identities around the internet are just you on Keybase, so no need to give out phone numbers or email addresses or swap secret codes. Within the chat itself you can easily see your chat buddy’s key and verify it’s them, too. Keybase checks this verification on every single message.
To make it easier, Keybase also released Chrome and Firefox extensions that places a “Keybase chat” button in relevant profiles like Twitter and Facebook. If that user is on Keybase (or even if they aren’t!), you can start a chat directly from there.
Keybase File System
Of course, text isn’t the only thing we want to encrypt. Keybase also provides what they call the Keybase File System (KBFS) that gives you public and private signed directories that you can share with anyone. Again, these files (just like everything else through Keybase) are end-to-end encrypted and are only visible to you and whomever they’re shared with. Using KBFS as a repository for sensitive research data seems like a very real and beneficial use case. The fact that Keybase mounts the KBFS on your system like a drive (by default it’s the K: drive) makes using it feel like it’s simply part of your own computer (which it is).
Keybase Teams
While everyone and their mother is on Slack, Keybase decided there needed to be a more secure version of the communication system du jour, hence Keybase Teams. It’s still a little rough as it’s very new but it works under the same principles of Keybase Chat and KBFS as far as identity and file sharing go, but in Teams the identity trust also takes the form of a chain. Person A invites person B to a team, who invites person C, and you can follow that chain all the way back and each invitation is signed. Teams currently provides both public and private channels as you’re likely used to in Slack but with the benefit of the encryption and identity verification.
Keybase Git
The newest member of the Keybase ecosystem is exactly what it sounds like: fully end-to-end encrypted git repositories. ProfHacker has written about GitHub for use in both writing and versioning your syllabus. (Keybase even suggests use cases just like these.) This could be incredibly useful for proprietary or hush-hush coding ventures.
Is it for me?
That’s a tough call. If you’re interested in or concerned about privacy and encryption but also like the idea of identity verification (and also don’t mind using a product that’s in active development), then give it a shot. Does it mean you can forego using a VPN or skip encrypting your devices? No. Will it supplant your standard messaging go-to app when talking to students or your default means of sharing files? Probably not. At least, not yet. But, hey, you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t at least something of a risk-taker, right?
Keybase is available on macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. If you want to give it a shot and test the waters, feel free to look me up at https://keybase.io/ryanstraight. Do you have experience with, or uses for, Keybase? Let us know in comments!
Header image by Matthew Henry at Unsplash.
[This is a guest post by Ryan Straight (@ryanstraight), an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, Faculty Fellow, and Honors Professor at the University of Arizona where he teaches classes on topics ranging from video game design to mobile learning technologies. His research focuses on applying postphenomenology to areas like interface design and digital curriculum and resource development. He also hosts the audio essay project The New Professor, owns the campus Slack team, and is an unabashed geek.--JBJ]