[Hidden-tech] Favorite Secure Email Service

Wed Apr 8 22:10:36 UTC 2020

If you need to have email be your means of communication, I would 
recommend https://protonmail.com/ .  I do not think that you can 
communicate health information via email and remain HIPPA complaint, 
although they have relaxed the standards to some extent lately.

Aaron E-J
The Other Realm LLC
http://otherrealm.org
http://theotherrealm.org (Blog)

On 2020-04-08 4:44 PM, Christopher Parker via Hidden-discuss wrote:
>
> I don't know your situation.  But as a user I've just about had it to 
> here with "secure" email solutions.  They are always a headache and 
> always cause me to do all kinds of not secure things in order to use 
> them.  You may not be in a position to do so, but if you can, I hope 
> you would consider just how much security is really necessary.  For 
> example, I really do NOT want to get my health care stuff on some kind 
> of "Secure" email.  The likelihood of something going astray is small 
> and inconsequential.  Banking information though, I understand.  I 
> also understand that health care providers are working within HIPPA 
> requirements and that other people have circumstances, abusive 
> relationships and so on that necessitate security.
>
>
> On 4/8/2020 11:25 AM, Stephen Michel via Hidden-discuss wrote:
>> Very short version: *Probably* the best thing is to use Signal, not 
>> email.
>>
>> Short version: Email isn't secure. I can write (or better, link to) a 
>> longer explanation of why that's the case, but the bottom line is 
>> that it just wasn't built for privacy. You *can* build a secure 
>> system on top of email, by encrypting things before you send them 
>> through email using a different tool (pgp), and then decrypting them 
>> on the other end. But that's hard for most people to set up and still 
>> lacks a couple important security features (forward secrecy, metadata 
>> security). There's also providers like protonmail which add a 
>> *little* security. While acknowledging that something is better than 
>> nothing, there's still flaws in these systems and you shouldn't think 
>> you're getting strong security from using them.
>>
>> Longer version (in a follow-up email): This question as it stands is 
>> impossible to answer well, bec ause security is a spectrum. Edward 
>> Snowden, the president, and you all have very different security 
>> needs. In order to arrive at a good answer, you need to figure out 
>> your security model.
>>
>> - Who do you want privacy from? Random everyday people? Friends? An 
>> abusive ex/partner? The government? A hacker? For whoever it is, are 
>> they doing it en masse or targeting you specifically?
>> - Who will you be communicating with? If it's an elderly 
>> parent/grandparent, you need something simple enough that they can 
>> use it. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how good the security is.
>> - What information are you trying to protect? Is it just the contents 
>> of the conversation, or also the people you're talking to (eg, a 
>> whistleblower contacting a journalist needs this).
>>
>> For most "regular" people, I think Signal is a pretty good fit, and 
>> that's why I recommended it given I know nothing about your use case.
>> --
>> I try to write short, functional emails.
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 8, 2020 at 08:38, Christine Dutton via Hidden-discuss 
>> <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net> wrote:
>>> Hello Hidden Tech Folks:
>>> Please recommend free favorite secure email services.
>>> Thank you!
>>> Christine
>>> *Christine Dutton*
>>> *Dutton Consulting *
>>> *413-626-6377*
>>> *Find me on Facebook here! <https://www.facebook.com/duttonconsulting/>*
>>> *
>>> *
>>
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