Google reportedly wants to make it easier for Gmail users to encrypt their emails.
PGP has been an open-source encryption standard for nearly 20 years, but the protocol has been dogged with usability issues that many claim have kept it from broader use.
As a result, engineers at Google are working on ways to make PGP easier for users, as part of a larger push for stronger user security in the wake of the NSA revelations, according to a report in VentureBeat.
A source said that “end-to-end encryption is the best defense for message protection, though it comes at considerable cost in functionality.” PGP works with Gmail but it’s widely regarded as unapproachable to many Internet users.
“Don’t expect Google to set up site-wide end-to-end encryption, however,” said VentureBeat. “For Google to monetize Gmail, it must be able to scan messages in order to serve targeting ads to users. It’s an advertising business, after all.”
*Google image via Shutterstock
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