7 ms·

Why aren't mail servers configured to require public keys?

10 points by plg 13y ago

Why aren't mail servers designed so that any mail directed to user X must be encrypted with user X's public key?

a3n 13y ago
Because email comes from the early internet, when the net was basically between a relatively few trusted individuals. Then millions, then billions saw the utility of what existed, and now it's almost too late.
DanBC 13y ago
SMTP is pretty old. RFC 821[1] is from 1982. RFC 722 (Mail Transfer Protocol) is from 1980. The early hackers didn't want security; passwords were often the string PASSWORD for example. Pretty Good Privacy[2] was first released 10 years later. Cryptography can be computationally expensive. There was a bunch of stuff that they just didn't think about when SMTP was created, and changing the protocols is glacially slow. For example, Project Gutenberg started when Michael Hart wanted everyone to have a copy of the US constitution, and started emailing it to everyone. Spam has been a significant problem for SMTP but nothing really has been put in the RFCs to help. Anyone designing a mail protocol wouldn't come up with SMTP, but no-one with RFC influence is going to create an SMTP replacement, and so we're getting locked in with easier closed-garden communications. Facebook makes it easy for me to chat or message someone, but it's horrible compared to the nice RFC standards. [1] (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc821.html http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc821.html) [2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy) [3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_gutenberg#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_gutenberg#History) (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_History_and_Philosophy_of_Project_Gutenberg_by_Michael_Hart http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_History_and_Phil...)
tptacek 13y ago
Because that would require a single universal Internet encryption standard, and S/MIME never really succeeded as that.
msmitty 13y ago
Single universal encryption standard indeed. Plus you'd need users to understand how it works. Teach them how to keep their secret key safe; explain to them how they are screwed if they ever lose it etc. Then you need to have users to upload their public keys. I don't see my dad doing this. You can't have your email provider do it because when your private key is not in your hands alone, you'll never be certain that it's not abused. Your mail server software needs to be adapted. Lots of people use Google. They won't encrypt email by default because then their algorithms won't be able to scan your email's content for targeted ads. John Q. Email user can't even choose a decent internet password, let alone understand PKI.
godgod 13y ago
Why aren't mail servers configured to require public keys? Because the US government isn't pushing this technology. Whatever they push, they've exploited. If they introduce a system like PGP for every mail server on the planet, they loose control.

10 points by plg 13y ago

Why aren't mail servers designed so that any mail directed to user X must be encrypted with user X's public key?

a3n 13y ago

Because email comes from the early internet, when the net was basically between a relatively few trusted individuals. Then millions, then billions saw the utility of what existed, and now it's almost too late.

DanBC 13y ago

SMTP is pretty old. RFC 821[1] is from 1982. RFC 722 (Mail Transfer Protocol) is from 1980. The early hackers didn't want security; passwords were often the string PASSWORD for example. Pretty Good Privacy[2] was first released 10 years later. Cryptography can be computationally expensive. There was a bunch of stuff that they just didn't think about when SMTP was created, and changing the protocols is glacially slow. For example, Project Gutenberg started when Michael Hart wanted everyone to have a copy of the US constitution, and started emailing it to everyone. Spam has been a significant problem for SMTP but nothing really has been put in the RFCs to help. Anyone designing a mail protocol wouldn't come up with SMTP, but no-one with RFC influence is going to create an SMTP replacement, and so we're getting locked in with easier closed-garden communications. Facebook makes it easy for me to chat or message someone, but it's horrible compared to the nice RFC standards. [1] (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc821.html http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc821.html) [2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy) [3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_gutenberg#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_gutenberg#History) (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_History_and_Philosophy_of_Project_Gutenberg_by_Michael_Hart http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_History_and_Phil...)

tptacek 13y ago

Because that would require a single universal Internet encryption standard, and S/MIME never really succeeded as that.

msmitty 13y ago

Single universal encryption standard indeed. Plus you'd need users to understand how it works. Teach them how to keep their secret key safe; explain to them how they are screwed if they ever lose it etc. Then you need to have users to upload their public keys. I don't see my dad doing this. You can't have your email provider do it because when your private key is not in your hands alone, you'll never be certain that it's not abused. Your mail server software needs to be adapted. Lots of people use Google. They won't encrypt email by default because then their algorithms won't be able to scan your email's content for targeted ads. John Q. Email user can't even choose a decent internet password, let alone understand PKI.

godgod 13y ago

Why aren't mail servers configured to require public keys? Because the US government isn't pushing this technology. Whatever they push, they've exploited. If they introduce a system like PGP for every mail server on the planet, they loose control.