Understanding The Challenges Of Internet Encryption In Communications

There have been many articles recently extolling the virtues of encrypting your communications via the internet. But there is another side to this debate. Russell Kay, senior reviews editor of Computerworld in the US, gives us his view. Some writers . . . There have been many articles recently extolling the virtues of encrypting your communications via the internet. But there is another side to this debate. Russell Kay, senior reviews editor of Computerworld in the US, gives us his view. Some writers conclude that we're not encrypting routinely because we don't believe, erroneously in his view, that we need it. I think that's wrong. The problem isn't that we don't care -- it's that encryption is entirely too difficult to accomplish.

Sure, all the technology is at hand. Anyone with a technical bent or a compelling need can install, say, PGP and encrypt his messages. I could do that, but I haven't because I don't know a single person I correspond with who could then read my messages. At the current state of communications software, encryption is suited for dedicated email among a few, well-defined partners. It can be useful for internal communications at a given organization where an IT staff can enforce and manage keys, but otherwise forget about it.

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