E2EMail

2017: Disclosure of source codes

In February, 2017 the Google company published source codes of the experimental E2EMail technology intended for end-to-end enciphering of e-mail on GitHub. It will allow to integrate with smaller costs the standard of enciphering OpenPGP into Gmail though it was not without internal compromises.

E2EMail is focused on "nontechnical" users to whom can be difficult to deal with the instruments of enciphering offered Gmail. At this E2EMail it is impossible to call the full-fledged client of OpenPGP or e-mail. In the current implementation this expansion for the Chrome browser which functions separately from the Gmail interface and performs the sandboxes functions (sandbox) for the protected writing and reading e-mail.

Google opened the source code of a system of end-to-end enciphering E2EMail

At the same time the mail account remains defenseless against the attacks "from within" (i.e. if the computer is infected with spyware, then malefactors, most likely, will get access to contents of the protected letter). The letter heading also remains not ciphered.^[1]

Project objective — to improve confidentiality for accidental, short and important messages. Thus, even email provider, in a case with Gmail is Google — will not be able to browse message contents, said in the description.

The version of E2EMail published on GitHub contains own server for generation and distribution of encryption keys. Further it is going to adapt it for use of such services as the method of search of encryption keys Key Transparency developed nowadays by Google.

Search and distribution of keys is a cornerstone of all problems with convenience of using which any implementations of OpenPGP face, E2EMail developers note.

It is safely possible to claim that the future - behind secure systems of message exchange — Dmitry Gvozdev, the CEO of Security reference monitor company says. — Interest in the encoded message exchange sharply increased after the publication of "Edward Snowden's documents", however it is already more important not than the reason, but an effect. Effects are like that that the encoded message exchange it will become inevitable the standard, and Google in every possible way promotes it. Including for competitive reasons: the services which are not offering enciphering even as an option are doomed to defeat.

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