Email service, one of the oldest Internet services, was not designed as a secure protocol when it was invented in the mid-1970s. Since the transmission over the Internet was in clear text, there was a risk of eavesdropping by vendors such as ISPs in the transmission process.

Surveilance Program

Today, most Web/Email providers use the https protocol to ensure secure transmission over the Internet, thanks to Edward Snowden, who, if not for the NSA’s PRISM (surveillance program) revelations, would have kept people informed about mass surveillance for an unknown period of time. The following paragraphs are from his book – Permanent Record.

The reaction of technocapitalists to the disclosures was immediate and forceful, proving once again that with extreme hazards come unlikely allies.The documents revealed an NSA so determined to pursue any and all information it perceived as being deliberately kept from it that it had undermined the basic encryption protocols of the Internet—making citizens’ financial and medical records, for example, more vulnerable, and in the process harming businesses that relied on their customers entrusting them with such sensitive data. In response, Apple adopted strong default encryption for its iPhones and iPads, and Google followed suit for its Android products and Chromebooks. But perhaps the most important private-sector change occurred when businesses throughout the world set about switching their website platforms, replacing http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) with the encrypted https (the S signifies security), which helps prevent third-party interception of Web traffic. The year 2016 was a landmark in tech history, the first year since the invention of the Internet that more Web traffic was encrypted than unencrypted.[1]

Conclusions

Nevertheless, as well known as email addresses can be forged, in some special cases HTTPS security certificates can also be forged. From the Snowden incident, many users who value Internet security and are sensitive to censorship have learned the importance of using email confidentiality. The main service providers now offering encrypted email services are:

• Tutanota
• Mailbox
• ProtonMail
• Hushmail

Reference

[1] Snowden, E. (2019). Permanent Record. Macmillan, (p.271).