Google ups encryption ante with End-to-End Chrome tool for secure Gmail use

Google has been one of the biggest organisations backing the citizen and Internet-led fightback against mass NSA surveillance. The company has made no bones about how angry it was on revelations that the agency was able to access user data without the company’s help, thanks to its many pervasive technologies.   Earlier this year, the company made all Gmail communication encrypted and slightly more NSA proof , so as long as you are emailing a Gmail contact, your emails would be safe from prying eyes. But in a much bigger move, the company has announced support for end-to-end encryption with Gmail, through a Chrome plugin.   The plugin is called End-to-End and it’s considered a major step for privacy and a major blow against mass surveillance since any messages sent over this encrypted connection can only be read by people who have their intended recipients’ passphrase, and not even Google. This also means that even if NSA were to tap into Google’s data centre through legal or covert means, it won’t be able to see the content of the email.   “‘End-to-end’ encryption means data leaving your browser will be encrypted until the message’s intended recipient decrypts it, and that similarly encrypted messages sent to you will remain that way until you decrypt them in your browser,” Stephan Somogyi, Product Manager, Security and Privacy at Google wrote in the security blog . Gmail already support some encryption tools such as Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) through browser plugin, but Google is hoping to simplify the privacy aspect and encryption process with End-to-End, which is said to be a better option for everyday users than something like PGP or GPG.   Users won’t find the End-to-End extension in the Chrome Web Store right away. Somogyi wrote,  “ We’re just sharing the code today so that the community can test and evaluate it, helping us make sure that it’s as secure as it needs to be before people start relying on it. (And we mean it: our Vulnerability Reward Program offers financial awards for finding security bugs in Google code, including End-to-End.)” Google has an extensive FAQ on what developers can do with the code.   “Once we feel that the extension is ready for primetime, we’ll make it available in the Chrome Web Store, and anyone will be able to use it to send and receive end-to-end encrypted emails through their existing web-based email provider,” he added.   Google’s End-to-End tool has been released to coincide with the beginning of the ‘Reset the Net’ campaign , which we wrote about yesterday. Backed by leading technology companies and popular websites such as Reddit and Imgur, the day is meant to commemorate the Edward Snowden leaks and is aimed at educating Netizens about privacy and secure communication.