![]() ![]() The owners of both Lavabit and Silent Circle warn those who want to continue using email to be aware of what country the service operates in. Unlike the email service, the owner said that they do not hold encryption keys, so they would be unable to provide anything if a government agency made a request for keys. Silent Circle offers a service called Silent Text, which sends secure mobile messages. The founder of Silent Circle and many other security experts say that text messaging can actually be far more secure with the right tools. Nobody likes the idea of being spied on for no reason. When people learn that even their encrypted messages are not really secure, it is easy to understand their frustration. While the message itself is encrypted, the government could demand a company decrypt it or ask for their encryption key. This includes the plain text of the subject line and shows the sender and recipient. If the data is encrypted, only metadata would be available. If any country's government decided to ask for an email service's data and had legal power to do so, the company would have to hand it over. ![]() Not even encrypted messages used in secure email services may be completely safe. As he explained, the NSA has loopholes for collecting and searching data for American citizens. However, as whistleblower Edward Snowden stated in one of his leaks, email is not the best way to send communications to keep them completely private. Using these tools and learning the various encryption methods can be a hassle, so most people simply opt for using a secure email service. While people can encrypt their own emails with the proper tools prior to sending them, they must still share an encryption key with each recipient.Äownloadable encryption tools can be difficult for the average person to set up and use, and some methods do not keep all of the data encrypted while it is stored on servers between the sender and recipient. This is part of what creates such a challenge for keeping data secure. After being sent, an email is stored on a server until the recipient opens it. When an email is sent out in unencrypted or plain text form, it includes authentication information, which includes a person's password. Two of the main purposes of using secure email are keeping the message safe and keeping the sender's password safe. Silent Circle eliminated Silent Mail as a preemptive measure and had not yet received any demands for handing over customers' information. After hearing that Lavabit had shut down, Silent Circle followed suit. ![]() The pressure on Lavabit came after it was made known that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was using the encrypted email service when he was stranded in Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. He also said that he was legally unable to explain the events leading up to his decision due to recent laws passed by congress blocking his freedom of speech. Ladar Levison, owner of Lavabit, said he faced the decision of complying with the government and betraying the American people or ending the email service he worked hard to build. Lavabit was the first to take action following word that the United States government wanted data handed over that would violate customers' privacy. Both Silent Circle and Lavabit recently shut down their encrypted email services. ![]()
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