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End to End Encryption: A puzzle solved

 


All of us have seen the flashing notification of WhatsApp “Your messages are end to end encrypted”. What does this notification refer to? With the internet sprawling around the world, privacy has become a major concern for users. Privacy activists around the world have been demanding the security of the shared data of users[1] on the internet for ages. The majority of the time, the intermediaries[2] which we use to share the information on the internet have the power to access and read into the data being shared by us[3], making our private data accessible to every possible medium it traverses.

End to End encryption provides the user with the assurance of data being kept safe and not falling into the hands of servers, hosts, intermediaries, etc. Encryption in the simplest of languages means modifying data in such a way that no intermediary can read it and only the person whom the data is intended to be given can read it given, he/she has the means to do that. Encryption is not a new terminology, ancient civilizations like Greece, Mesopotamia, Egypt, etc. used to encrypt their data to protect from enemy kingdoms. Encryption was also extensively used in World War 2 by the Allies and Axis forces to conceal their messages from enemy countries.

The modern end to end encryption mechanism uses the technology of asymmetric cryptography to protect their data. There are two keys involved here. The originator encrypts his message/data with his private key and a certificate provided by the certifying authority that the key belongs to the sender. After encryption, the data is changed into a certain form that is not decipherable by any server. The encrypted message is received at the addressee’s end who decrypts the message by using the originator’s public key and in this way the privacy of the user’s data is kept intact.

End to End encryption is highly advocated by a lot of activists. Whistleblower Edward Snowden from the USA has also advocated the use of end to end encryption to protect user data by arbitrary action by the state[4].

Apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal etc. have started providing end to end encryption. But the encryption technology poses a threat to the security of the state also, wherein extremist activities can occur under the garb of end to end encryption. This has led to a phenomenon known as crypto wars in the USA where the government wants to have access to the encrypted messages to ensure the security of the state. In India also, the government has introduced OTT guidelines[5] where the intermediaries need to disclose the first originator of the information during grievance redressal.

Therefore, a balanced approach needs to be taken on part of the governments to ensure that the user privacy is kept intact and security of the state is also maintained at the same time.

By: Prakhar Tripathi   

(Legal Intern, WCSF) 

 

For more info & updates, please visit  our website: https://www.worldcybersecurities.com/

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Privacy Activist Challenges Data Collection for Internet Businesses https://www.alstonprivacy.com/privacy-activist-challenges-data-collection-for-internet-businesses/ (Last Modified 2 May 2019, 3:15 PM)

[2] The Information Technology Act, 2000 § 2(1)(w), No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 (India)

[4] Without encryption, we will lose all privacy. This is our new battleground https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/15/encryption-lose-privacy-us-uk-australia-facebook ( Last Modified 15 October 2019 12:40 AM)

[5] Government notifies Information Technology (IntermediaryGuidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1700749  (Last modified: February 25, 2021 2:44 PM)

 

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