E-Mail In The U.S. Will No Longer Be Confidential

Secure E-Mail Companies Say There’s No Such Thing Anymore -- Bloomberg Businessweek

When President Obama held a news conference on Friday to reassure Americans about the National Security Agency’s hi-tech spying, he focused primarily on such policy themes as transparency and oversight. Skeptics immediately described the plan as a way to make people more comfortable with surveillance rather than changing the underlying practices.

“Instanalysis: President Obama proposed measures to make the American people more comfortable with NSA programs, not to end bulk surveillance.”

—Alex Howard (@digiphile), Aug. 9, 2013

For several providers of secure electronic communications, no amount of official reassurance could change one basic fact: There is no technical way for them to make e-mail that they consider “unsnoopable.” The day before Obama’s comments, Lavabit, a secure e-mail provider that was reportedly used by Edward Snowden, announced it was suspending its service and offered this word of warning to its now-former users:

“Without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.”

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More News On Secure E-Mail Companies Shutting Down

Lavabit's Ladar Levison: 'If You Knew What I Know About Email, You Might Not Use It' -- Forbes
Guys That Invented Encrypted Email Say Email Can Never Be Safe From NSA Snooping -- SFGate/Business Insider
Email service used by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden shuts down -- New York Daily News
Snowden's e-mail provider shuts down amid court battle -- CNN/Wired
Email service linked to NSA leaker Edward Snowden shuts down -- FOX News/AP
Lavabit privacy row: second email service closes 'to prevent spying' -- The Guardian
Encrypted email Lavabit used by Snowden shuts to avoid 'complicity in crimes against Americans' -- RT
Lavabit, Silent Circle Shut Down: Crypto In Spotlight -- Information Week
2 E-Mail Services Close and Destroy Data Rather Than Reveal Files -- New York Times
Silent Circle Preemptively Shuts Down Encrypted Email Service To Prevent NSA Spying -- Tech Crunch
Encryption App Silent Circle Shuts Down E-Mail Service 'To Prevent Spying' -- Forbes
Silent Circle shuts down encrypted email service -- CBS News
Lavabit is defunct – so what's a fan of secure email to do now? -- The Guardian