How does the End-to-End (E2E) encryption technology works? Discuss the advantages and security implications of such technology.
Refer – The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
End-to-End encryption
· It is a technology which is used in messaging applications to ensure privacy.
· It ensures only a person and the person whom he/she communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even by the application through which a message had been sent can read.
· Those messages are secured with a lock, and only the recipient and sender have the special key needed to unlock and read those messages.
· For added protection, every message has a unique lock and key.
· The very familiar application of End-to-End encryption in our daily routine is Whatsapp.
Advantages of E2E Technology
· It is a feature that is great from the perspective of privacy of users.
· This feature helps messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates etc. from falling into the wrong hands.
· The Whatsapp like messaging application in India is being used more and more by rural and older populations, who are often new to the internet and less tech-savvy.
· So, securing such people’s privacy is essential.
Security implications
· The problem of fake news and misinformation being spread via E2E enabled messaging apps are increasing in India.
· It is not exclusive to India; it has become a trend across the globe.
· During emergency situations like protests, communal violence, disasters etc, such messaging apps’ are most widely used as a medium to spread rumours about the incident.
· It is also being used by political parties in favour of them and for spreading anti-religious sentiments.
· Since messages are encrypted end-to-end it is impossible to locate the origin of the message source.
Solutions
· The spread of fake news through messaging apps which enables E2E is something cannot be controlled directly.
· This puts the responsibility of stopping spread of misinformation on citizens and the media.
· People need to be told that messages on such apps can be dangerous and false information can be spread by people looking to create trouble.
· From its part, the messaging app should also issue disclaimers stating that messages can be false.
