Slack just backtracked on the worst idea ever

Slack simply backtracked on the worst thought ever

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Slack has now reversed its controversial decision to let users bulletin anyone else via Slack, even if they aren't part of the same individual channel.

Or more accurately the company has fine-tuned the Slack Connect DMs characteristic to minimize the take chances of harassment and abuse. Users volition all the same be able to invite outsiders to join them in a private conversation, but now there's no option to send any messages beforehand.

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Slack Connect DMs is an invite system that enables cross-aqueduct communication. That means people could communicate with each other through Slack, despite not being members of the aforementioned private channel, simply only if they both agreed to it first. That'southward non changing, every bit far as we can tell.

Initially, however, those invites could become out with a written message. Naturally, this could easily be exploited to harass people at piece of work or ship them abusive letters. Particularly since Slack does non include tools to block other people or report abuse.

to sum information technology up- can't block in slack- can't block the email- abuser tin keep "inviting" with abusive linguistic communication- even if your workspace disables the ability to have these invites, all of the above remain trueMarch 24, 2021

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And then Slack has admitted its mistake and backtracked on the initial messaging feature.

"After rolling out Slack Connect DMs this morning, we received valuable feedback from our users near how email invitations to employ the feature could potentially be used to send abusive or harassing letters. We are taking immediate steps to prevent this kind of abuse, get-go today with the removal of the ability to customize a message when a user invites someone to Slack Connect DMs," Jonathan Prince, Slack's vice president of communications and policy, told The Verge.

"Slack Connect's security features and robust authoritative controls are a core function of its value both for individual users and their organizations. We made a error in this initial roll-out that is inconsistent with our goals for the production and the typical experience of Slack Connect usage. As always, nosotros are grateful to anybody who spoke up, and nosotros are committed to fixing this issue."

There's more to worry nigh than abuse

Of grade, at that place are still other concerns to worry about. Some of them have already been debunked online, like the risk of people able to see which Slack channels a user is part of when they accept an invite. Slack has confirmed to The Verge that users receiving invites will only be able to see which channel they're being invited to, and nada else.

There'due south also the problem that whole private companies will exist able to opt-in to Slack Connect, individuals have no such power. It's besides not articulate whether it's possible to disable the feature for individual members of an organization. So users may discover themselves bombarded with Slack Connect invitations, with no manner to turn them off.

Those messages may non come with abusive messages fastened, but they could prove to be a serious distraction if the incorrect person (or people) decided to exploit those tools.

If this makes you uncomfortable, remember that Slack doesn't encrypt your letters, can store them indefinitely even if you don't have access to them, and that in many cases your employer can read and search for everything you've posted, even DMs.https://t.co/xojPTurlF8March 24, 2021

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Plus there'due south the problem of which channel admins take admission to what. Slack Plus plans store everything, without encryption, and get in attainable by channel admins if they wish. In a situation where ii members of different organizations are sending messages via Slack Connect, there are two different admin teams that may be able to see what they're saying. Nosotros've asked Slack to clarify this indicate.

Then there's the risk of exposing sensitive company information. It's bad enough if outside admins could potentially run into this, simply companies do talk about sensitive stuff in Slack. In fact, final year's Twitter hack, which led to verified accounts tweeting out the aforementioned cryptocurrency scam, only happened because the hacker managed to infiltrate Twitter'south Slack business relationship and gain admission to visitor tools.

Slack Connect DMs are what the name suggests, and but permit people send private messages between Slack channels. But information technology is a potential security hole, and hackers are an intrepid bunch. Who knows what they might exist able to get up to.

Fortunately, Slack seems willing to heed to criticism and volition brand changes to Slack Connect where needed. Reducing the take a chance for abuse is very of import, but information technology's still but a surface-level trouble. In that location are other issues underneath that need to be addressed as well. Let's only hope it will happen soon, and without someone claiming to be Elon Musk while trying to fleece you out of Bitcoin.

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Tom is the Tom'south Guide'southward Automotive Editor, which means he tin can ordinarily exist found articulatio genus deep in stats the latest and all-time electric cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. It's long style from his days every bit editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the tabular array. He's usually institute trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very big cups of coffee, or complaining that Ikea won't let him buy the stuff he really needs online.