In the last couple of years, the phrase “end-to-end encryption” has been appearing more often around the Internet and in the news. What ex

How Safe is End-to-End Encryption?

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2021-05-31 11:30:07

In the last couple of years, the phrase “end-to-end encryption” has been appearing more often around the Internet and in the news. What exactly does it mean and how safe is it really?

End-to-end encryption is a method of secure communication that prevents third-parties from accessing data while it’s transferred from one device to another. In end-to-end encryption, the data is encrypted on the sender’s device and only the recipient is able to decrypt it. Nobody in between, whether they are the Internet service provider, application service provider or hacker, can read it or tamper with it. The cryptographic keys used to encrypt and decrypt the messages are stored exclusively on the sender and receiver’s devices.

It prevents potential eavesdroppers – including telecom providers, Internet providers, and even the provider of the communication service – from being able to access the cryptographic keys needed to decrypt the conversation. The systems are designed to defeat any attempts at surveillance or tampering because no third parties can decipher the data being communicated or stored. For example, companies that use end-to-end encryption are unable to hand over texts of their customers’ messages to the authorities.

Many mainstream communication platforms have adopted end-to-end encryption, including Whatsapp, Telegram, Signal, Viber, CoverMe, Wire, Wickr, Threema, LINE and Dust.