>> WE KNOW SENDING A TEXT MESSAGE ONLY TAKES A MATTER OF SECONDS, BUT NOW THE FBI SAYS HACKERS MAY BE ABLE TO STEAL WHAT YOU SEND JUST AS QUICKLY IN TONIGHT'S COVER STORY. I'M UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN SECURITY RISKS IN OUR PHONES AND HOW YOU CAN HELP KEEP YOUR CONVERSATIONS. PRIVATE. >> EVERY DAY, MILLIONS OF MESSAGES FLY FROM PHONE TO PHONE IN OUR COMMUNITY. BUT NOT ALL THOSE MESSAGES ARE SECURE, SPECIFICALLY TEXTING FROM AN APPLE DEVICE TO AN ANDROID DEVICE. APPLE USERS ARE ADAM FRAZIER. NEVER THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT IT. DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT MY DATA. HE USES AN IPHONE TO TEXT, BUT IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. AND AUGUST WAS WHENEVER I GOT MY IPHONE. BUT >> SENSE 13, I'VE BEEN USING ANDROIDS AND ACTUALLY I NEVER HAD A SECURITY CONCERN OR ANYTHING GO WRONG WITH ANDROID. >> BUT THE FBI IS NOW SAYING SENDING TEXTS FROM APPLE TO ANDROID PHONES AND VICE VERSA IS RISKY. THE KEY IS END TO END ENCRYPTION. JEAN HOYT IS A CYBERSECURITY EXPERT AT FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY. WHAT IS ENCRYPT SHIP? >> ENCRYPTION IS BASICALLY YOU'RE TAKING THAT INFORMATION. AND YOU'RE SEALING IT UP. AND YOU WANT TO PASS THIS ON TO THE NEXT PERSON. SO IT'S GOING TO GO THROUGH CHANNELS AND YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT SAID PERSON, YOU'RE SENDING IT TO IS THE ONLY ONE THAT OPENS. >> FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE TEXTING APPLE IPHONE TO APPLE IPHONE, IT'S ENCRYPTED, MEANING IT'S MORE SECURE SOMEONE ELSE. WE NEED TO PASS CODE OR SECURITY KEY TO INTERCEPT IT. BUT WHEN TEXTING FROM AN APPLE IPHONE TO SAY AN ANDROID PHONE, LOOK AT WHAT IT SAYS. TEXT MESSAGE, SMS. YOU WANT TO BE CAREFUL IF YOU SEE SOME S COME UP THAT IT'S NOT SECURE. THE CONCERN FOLLOWS THE FBI'S WARNING THAT THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IS TARGETING COMMERCIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE. >> THE FBI SAYS HACKERS ARE MAINLY GOING AFTER PEOPLE INVOLVED IN GOVERNMENT OR POLITICAL ACTIVITY. DOES THE AVERAGE PERSON NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS? I THINK SO. >> IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH THAT WORKS FOR A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY. IF I'M TARGETING THAT PERSON, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO GO THROUGH YOU. >> WHILE THE GOVERNMENT WARNS TEXTURES TO ENCRYPT THEIR MESSAGES OR STOP TEXTING ALTOGETHER. APPLE USING FRAZIER SAYS HE HAS NO PLANS TO DISCONNECT FROM HIS FAMILY. MY FAMILY HAS AND RIGHT. BUT IT'S NOT LIKE I DON'T TEXT SECURE INFORMATION. LIKE IF SOMEONE WANTED TO STEAL MY TEXT MESSAGES, ALL DOT THE BUNCH OF PICTURES OF MY DOG. >> AND GETTING YOU MORE, THERE ARE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PROTECT YOURSELF FIRST, WHATEVER PLATFORM YOU'RE USING TO SEND MESSAGES, MAKE SURE IT GUARANTEES THAT END TO END ENCRYPTION. THE FBI SAYS WHAT'S APP AND SIGNAL ARE GOOD ALTERNATIVES TO USE THAT IN TRADITIONAL TEXTING BECAUSE OF THEIR SECURITY. YOU CAN USE A PASSWORD MANAGER TO STORE YOUR PASSWORDS, APPLE AND BOTH OFFER THESE SERVICES AND UPDATE YOUR OPERATING SOFTWARE REGULARLY. THIS CAN HELP KEEP THE MOST UP-TO-DATE SECURITY ON WHATEVER DEVICE YOU'RE USING. EILEAN CLUED A LINK TO MORE BEST PRACTICES ON HOW TO KEEP YOUR MESSAGES AND CALLS