Google Releases Email Encryption Tool Alpha

Google this week released the alpha version of source code for End-to-End, a Chrome browser extension that encrypts email.End-to-End uses the OpenPGP standard to encrypt, decrypt, digitally sign and verify signed messages within the browser."We're just sharing the code today so that the community can test and evaluate it, helping us make sure that it's as secure as it needs to be before people start relying on it," Google said. It will offer a bounty for bugs found, under its Vulnerability Reward Program.Once the extension is ready for use, it will be released in the Chrome Web Store."PGP has shown itself over the years to be a very robust form of encryption," Alex Watson, director of research at Websense, told TechNewsWorld. "It takes the responsibility out of the provider's hands -- if I send you a PGP-encrypted email, only you and I can read it."