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Experts, Google Discuss More Secure Gmail
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2009-06-16
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Earlier today, 38 security experts sent an open letter to Google concerning the security and privacy afforded by Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar. The search giant responded soon after with a blog post, and it appears to represent almost exactly what the experts wanted to hear.
 | | Experts, Google Discuss More Secure Gmail |  |
First, let's look at the semi-complaint. It basically expresses displeasure over the fact that HTTPS encryption technology, while available as an option, isn't a default feature across all of Google's offerings. Jacob Appelbaum of the Tor Foundation, Ian Brown of Oxford, Benjamin Edelman of Harvard, Robert Hansen of SecTheory, and Bruce Schneier of the BT Group signed it.
Alma Whitten, a software engineer on Google's Security & Privacy Teams, responded by writing on the Google Online Security Blog, "Free, always-on HTTPS is pretty unusual in the email business, particularly for a free email service, but we see it as an another way to make the web safer and more useful. . . . In fact, we're currently looking into whether it would make sense to turn on HTTPS as the default for all Gmail users."
One sticking point, according to Whitten, is speed - Google intends to test whether or not people will find a safer-but-slower Gmail acceptable. Different regions' and networks' responses to HTTPS will also be examined.
Yet the key point is that Google does mean to test turning on HTTPS by default, which is a rather big deal. Indeed, the pressure will really be on other email providers (note Whitten's "pretty unusual" comment) to catch up if Google pulls this off.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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