Pretty Good Privacy, better known as PGP, is marking its tenth anniversary this year. Free and easy to use, the encryption tool has become one of the most prevalent ways to secure messages traveling the Internet - it is a standard cryptographic solution for users globally.. . .
Pretty Good Privacy, better known as PGP, is marking its tenth anniversary this year. Free and easy to use, the encryption tool has become one of the most prevalent ways to secure messages traveling the Internet - it is a standard cryptographic solution for users globally.

"PGP is a powerful encryption tool that is utilized worldwide by individuals and companies to maintain the privacy of their most critical information," says Sandra England, president of PGP Security. "PGP's ten-year legacy is a testament to its quality and overall industry leadership."

If it had been left up to the U.S. government, however, this would not have been the case. Back in 1991, the United States Attorney's office launched an investigation of PGP's creator and current Hush Communications' Chief Cryptographer Phil Zimmerman (who recently left Network Associates of which PGP Security is a subsidiary) for distributing PGP via a public domain. At the time, the U.S. had stringent trade restrictions on the export of cryptographic products, fearing they would fall into the hands of foreign terrorists.

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