Yahoo is planning to introduce end-to-end encryption for email, to boost privacy protection for users concerned about snooping from governments or hackers.
The internet giant has demonstrated new security and safety features for its email service at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, ramping up efforts to boost privacy since the 2013 revelations about government surveillance.
The new security feature aims to allow non-technical people to use encryption with the click of a button after an initial setup of a few minutes.
A test or beta version of the encryption software is being released for developers, and it is expected to be rolled out to users in the coming months.
"Our goal is to have this available by the end of the year," said Alex Stamos, Yahoo's chief information security officer.
"Anybody who has the ability to write an email should have no problem using our email encryption."
Privacy advocates say encryption is a valuable tool in thwarting unwanted snooping, but many users find the process daunting, with a need to create complex codes or "keys" for both the sender and receiver.
Yahoo has been collaborating with Google and its Gmail service on the encryption, and the standards will be compatible, Stamos said, so Yahoo and Gmail users will be able to send each other encrypted messages with a single click.
"I think anybody who uses email in the centre of our life needs encryption," Stamos said.
"If you send emails to your spouse or your lawyer or family members, you want to have these messages be confidential."
Yahoo, Google and other online giants took steps to encrypt internet traffic in the wake of revelations of vast online surveillance programs led by the US National Security Agency, and have argued they never allowed unfettered access to their servers.
The email encryption takes this further by encrypting the content on both ends of the message.
AFP
source: newshub archive
