Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, has created a new game that uses emojis to teach people about encryption.
The web-based tool, called Codemoji, lets you send coded messages to friends using emojis. It uses emoji characters to create a simple algorithmic encryptionto illustrate the basics of encryption.
And here's how it works: start by writing a message you want your friends to decode, then choose an emoji to serve as the key to decoding. Codemoji then scrambles your message into a string of emoji characters, which you can send to friends.
Once you've shared the encoded message, your friends will have to guess which emojis are the key to decoding it into a readable message. (Mozilla suggests giving your friends a hint as to which characters you used.) Once they choose the correct emoji, the message should be decoded.
Mozilla notes that Codemoji is intended to be an educational tool and that it is not meant to be a secure communications service. The company says its main goal is to teach people — likely younger users — the importance of encryption and how it works.
In a statement, Mozilla CEO Mark Surman said “encryption is under threat around the world,” citing proposed policies from the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and France, along with the FBI’s public battle with Apple over its use of encryption. Mozilla was one of several tech companies to side with Apple in its fight with the FBI earlier this year.
“Mozilla believes that encryption is the most important tool we have for building a more secure internet,” it writes on its blog. “And building a more secure internet is vital to our users, our economy, and our national security.”.
