The Importance of Secure and Open Communication

There is no question your personal data and communication is constantly being sought after. Regardless whether you are sending a personal email, doing online banking, or simply browsing your social media, people want access to your data. For that reason encryption was implemented. When you login to your online banking you are using HTTPS protocol to encrypt your data to prevent it from being stolen. However how do you prevent your communications from being intercepted? You encrypt your conversation.

There are many methods to encrypt your communications, however the biggest obstacle to overcome is whether or not your encrypted communications are compatible with the person you are trying to talk to. For this reason cross-company compatibility is key.

There are a few reasons why encryption services might not work together, the most common being blacklisting. This is when two companies use the same type of encryption but one of the two has disallowed the other to communicate with their network. These policies are usually implemented to prevent users from switching services, and locking them into a provider.

Myntex has the firm belief that everyone has the right to privacy, therefore we strive to allow all of our customers to communicate openly, whether they are on our encryption service or not. When we find a network that we are unable to communicate with, we immediately reach out to attempt to open communications. The only people that suffer from networks not being compatible with each other are the end users.

There are companies out there that have purposely disallowed their users to communicate with anyone other than other users within their network. Having a large conglomerate of encrypted service providers allowing cross network communications is key to a healthy ecosystem that everyone including the end user will benefit from.

Here at Myntex we pride ourselves on the code of ethics we practice. No blocking, customers come first, and the reliability of our service being paramount. We spare no time or expense to ensure these morals are followed which we believe will set the bar for other encryption providers. In an unregulated market we hope to set the standard, and will continue to push the importance of secure and open communication.

How Email Encryption Protects Everyone in the UK

In the UK, there’s talk of government moving to ban end-to-end encryption. According to leaked documents, the legislation in question would force technology companies to “build backdoors into their products, in an attempt to allow its intelligence agencies to access civilians’ private data and messages.”

 

This is alarming for many reasons.

Backdoors are easy to exploit. It’s not a case of only granting access to government surveillance teams. Encryption technology doesn’t work that way. Once a backdoor is built into technology, anyone with the know-how — including criminals or corrupt government officials — could gain access to private data. It’s no longer secure.

Frustratingly, a move like this also assumes everyone who uses encryption is a criminal or planning a terrorist attack, despite the fact that all citizens in the UK have a right to communicate securely and privately.

Encrypted communication protects everyone, whether you’re sharing sensitive client documents, planning an event or sending family photos of your baby.

 

Without encryption communications, we’re all at risk

Earlier this year, the UK home secretary pushed for WhatsApp, the widely popular messaging service, to install backdoors in its technology to make it accessible to authorities. Her reasoning was that criminals are discussing their plans using the app and investigators require access.

While no one can prevent criminals from using encrypted communications, a ban on it would risk exposing huge swaths of financial and personal data, simply for the sake of catching a small number of criminals. It’s too big of a threat on civil liberties.

Relying on mainstream telecommunications providers for secure email just isn’t advisable either. Providers regularly store communications and must comply with requests from law enforcement to hand over data.

A sweeping bill — nicknamed The Snooper’s Charter — passed last year in the UK, giving government even more surveillance power and the ability to hack and store data relating to internet use. The Investigatory Powers Act gives the British state the ability to compel service providers and mobile networks to store what you do online for 12 months.

This includes email correspondence and browsing histories.

 

PGP encryption is for anyone who needs it

Myntex users are individuals or businesses in the UK who value their privacy and security. They’re committed to being able to express themselves freely without outside intervention. Businesses have trade secrets they want to protect, as well as sensitive information that cannot be leaked like financial reports and health data.

Using BlackBerry email encryption protects these communications by making intercepted messages impossible to read, and deleting the messages themselves within 24 hours. Because we don’t store messages or encryption keys, there’s nothing for us to turn over to law enforcement even if we are the subject of a subpoena. You’re protected no matter what laws are enacted in the UK.

 

Ready to learn more about encryption?

Everyone Has the Right to Privacy: Knowing Your Digital Rights in the Netherlands

Everyone has a fundamental right to privacy. It’s a reality that in our fast-paced digital world, this right to privacy is constantly under threat. Unlike paper data, digital information can swiftly move across borders and fall easily into the wrong hands. Mobile internet usage in the Netherlands has skyrocketed in the last five years. Statistics show that 80% of Dutch citizens are mobile internet users.

Unfortunately, many people continue to use insecure communication methods that put their privacy at risk, often due to a lack of education about digital privacy laws and surveillance tactics. Knowing your digital rights in the Netherlands will help you make choices that will ultimately guard your privacy.

 

Digital privacy laws in the Netherlands

Laws pertaining to electronic communications and personal data privacy in the Netherlands fall under either the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) or the Telecommunications Act, and sometimes both.

Under the PDPA, personal data can be legally accessed under certain conditions. Consent must be obtained by the data subject (that’s you) before the act of collecting or processing any identifiable information. Of course, there are exceptions to this right to consent. It’s still possible for your personal information to be shared without your knowledge because of requests from internet service providers or Dutch law enforcement agencies.

According to the Telecommunications Act, it’s your right to be informed by your service or network provider that there’s been a breach of security. Dutch law says that data can be legally stored if it is being used in a criminal investigation or persecution of a serious offence such as terrorism. In this context, the stored data can only be kept for one year.

If you suspect that your personal data is being viewed or processed, it’s your right to request the service provider or party in question to confirm whether or not this is the case. It’s also your right to ask for the logic behind why your data is being processed. You must receive a response in writing within four weeks.

Dutch citizens have the right to submit complaints about digital privacy violations to the Dutch Data Protection Authority via the National Ombudsman.

For more information and support on digital rights in the Netherlands, consider checking out Bits of Freedom, an advocacy organization.

 

How to protect yourself

While Dutch laws seem to have the intention of protecting citizens, it’s obvious that exceptions made for law enforcement investigations and security breaches could still put your personal privacy at risk.

It wasn’t encouraging to see this Dutch official express a willingness to sacrifice privacy for security in order to install encryption “backdoors” in popular messaging apps (luckily, the Dutch government didn’t agree).

Nonetheless, here are some tips for protecting yourself.

Take the time to research telecommunications providers in the Netherlands. The two biggest issues for telecommunications providers are data storage and interference from law enforcement.

A popular provider, KPN, was the victim of a massive hacking incident in 2012. A 17-year-old managed to gain access to the KPN servers and the email addresses of two million users. KPN was forced to revoke access to the email accounts and ask users to reset their passwords.

The company was ultimately fined by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets for “insufficiently securing customer data.”

The logical next step is to choose a provider that not only encrypts your communications, but doesn’t actually store any of your private information.

Beyond researching your telecommunications provider, consider what may happen to your digital data if you try to cross an international border, as some citizens have run into problems trying to enter the U.S. in recent months. Border guards have asked to search their mobile phones.

While it seems to be within the rights of travellers to refuse the search, it may be easier to delete any unnecessary apps before travelling, take a temporary phone while on vacation or simply use an email encryption service that automatically deletes messages over a day old, and can be wiped at a moment’s notice.

 

Choose PGP encryption for secure communication

Because as citizens we’re at the mercy of laws set by those in power, it’s vital that you choose a communications provider, and a secure device, that makes reading your email impossible.

While BlackBerry PGP encryption can’t necessarily stop emails from being intercepted, the emails themselves are encrypted and can’t be read. You’re in total control of your privacy.

 

Interested in how to protect your communications? Find out more.