Digital communication today is in such a way that people exchanging messages may think their messages are private when in a real sense, they are being recorded and kept in a central server. End-to-end encryption is one way to ensure the server does not read your messages.
End-to-end encryption is a technique of encrypting communications between a sender and a receiver, making them the only parties capable of decrypting the data. It goes back to the 1990s when Phil Zimmerman launched Pretty Good Privacy, commonly called PGP.
How Does E2EE Work?
E2EE makes sure that none, including the server that links you with others, can get to your communications. These communications can be anything from video calls to simple texts and emails. Information is encrypted in apps like Google Duo, Whatsapp, and Signal. A key exchange kicks off the process of end-to-end encryption.
Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange
Cryptographers Whitefiilled Diffie, Ralph Merkle, and Martin Hellman created the idea of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange. It is a powerful method that permits parties to produce a shared secret in a possibly hostile environment. In simple terms, creating this key can happen on insecure platforms without altering the ensuing message. This is valuable in the Information Age because parties do not have to exchange keys physically to communicate.
Once the parties have their key, they can use it as the core for a symmetric encryption scheme. Once you link with your friend on an end-to-end encrypted platform, decryption and encryption can only happen on your devices, stopping any possible software vulnerabilities.
The Cons of E2EE
To some people, the very value proposition of E2EE is disadvantageous because nobody can get to your messages without the right key.
Some people argue that criminals can use E2EE knowing that the government cannot decrypt and access their messages. According to them, lawful people with nothing to hide do not need to encrypt their phone calls and messages.
Note that E2EE ensures no one can read your information; however, threats such as your device being stolen or compromised and your messages accessed still exists. Or, somebody could put themselves between you and your friend by mounting a man-in-the-middle attack at the start of the communication when you are doing a key exchange, causing you to unknowingly form a secret with an attacker.
The Pros of E2EE
Apart from its few shortcomings previously discussed, E2EE is a highly effective resource for highly increased security and confidentiality. It is highly advocated for by privacy activists around the world.
Additionally, E2EE is easily put into applications like the ones people are used to, meaning it is easily accessible to anyone knowledgeable enough to use technological devices such as phones and computers.
Closing Thoughts
Seeing E2EE as a criminal tool is wrong because even the safest companies have been victims of cyberattacks, yet they have E2EE in their systems. However, if a firm whose members depend on the E2EE system is hacked, hackers may fail to get meaningful information from the company’s database. They can access metadata at best, but not important information about the contents of the company’s messages.
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