Sending Encrypted Email Securely
In the days of all the new technology around us, some believe that we are advancing faster than we can keep up with ourselves. And, it is true that there are many problems associated with technology. One of these problems is the issues that are associated with security. Yes, it is very easy and fast to send an email to a business contact. This is much faster than going to talk to them. And, many times it is faster and more efficient than calling on the phone. But, there is a problem. Who is seeing the email? Where does it go before it reaches the recipient?
Because of these and other issues, many people are trying to find ways to make their email and other communications more secure. One of the ways to make email more sure is to encrypt it. The encryption works by issuing a public key to people who will be sending email. Their system uses that key to encode and encrypt sent email.
The recipient keeps a private key for themselves. When they receive the email, their system uses the private key to decipher what was sent, using the public key. They can also use this private key to encrypt and sign message that they send, themselves.
One popular method of email encryption is identity encryption. In this method, the keys involved use some part of the identity of the user in the encryption process. A trusted third party would generate the private keys. The advantage to this system is that as long as the private key is kept private, the security of the messages can be relied upon. The major disadvantage is that this type of encryption makes the third party very susceptible to attacks. If the third party key generator is compromised, all messages are compromised. It is easy to see why this would be a dedicated target for those who are looking to commit internet crime.
The technology for email encryption is already available. However, it has not become widely used, yet. This may be a result of many people seeing email encryption as being paranoid. They may feel that there is no need for it. However, as the news of internet crime and identity theft increases all around, many people may begin to decide that what they once viewed as paranoia may actually be a good outlook on life.
Because of these and other issues, many people are trying to find ways to make their email and other communications more secure. One of the ways to make email more sure is to encrypt it. The encryption works by issuing a public key to people who will be sending email. Their system uses that key to encode and encrypt sent email.
The recipient keeps a private key for themselves. When they receive the email, their system uses the private key to decipher what was sent, using the public key. They can also use this private key to encrypt and sign message that they send, themselves.
One popular method of email encryption is identity encryption. In this method, the keys involved use some part of the identity of the user in the encryption process. A trusted third party would generate the private keys. The advantage to this system is that as long as the private key is kept private, the security of the messages can be relied upon. The major disadvantage is that this type of encryption makes the third party very susceptible to attacks. If the third party key generator is compromised, all messages are compromised. It is easy to see why this would be a dedicated target for those who are looking to commit internet crime.
The technology for email encryption is already available. However, it has not become widely used, yet. This may be a result of many people seeing email encryption as being paranoid. They may feel that there is no need for it. However, as the news of internet crime and identity theft increases all around, many people may begin to decide that what they once viewed as paranoia may actually be a good outlook on life.