https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=337617
Bug ID: 337617
Summary: add symmetric OpenPGP email encryption
Product: kmail2
Version: 4.10.5
Hardware: Other
OS: Linux
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: wishlist
Priority: NOR
Component: crypto
Assignee: kdepim-bugs@kde.org
Reporter: ha...@laging.de
OpenPGP is typically used with asymmetric encryption (key pairs) but the
standard contains a definition for symmetric (but still two level) encryption.
With gpg this is done by using --symmetric instead of --encrypt.
KMail, Thunderbird/Enigmail and more clients can already decrypt emails which
have been encrypted symmetrically. This can be tested with this file:
http://www.crypto-fuer-alle.de/docs/mail-symmetric/mail.cr-lf.eml
I suggest to add the capability to symmetrically encrypt mails to KMail.
Symmetric encryption can be more easily used than asymmetric encryption if none
has been prepared yet. For symmetric encryption the necessary software just has
to be installed but not configured. People are familiar with passwords but not
with key pairs. In the case of KMail nothing would have to be done as GnuPG is
always installed. It doesn't make any sense at all to force the users to use
something different from OpenPGP when they want to use symmetric encryption.
This is not supposed to be an alternative to regular OpenPGP usage but an
alternative for those who are not willing or not capable to prepare for the use
of key pairs in that moment. Most people would not use this feature
permanently. If they start encrypting emails regularly they will probably
switch to typical OpenPGP usage.
This feature should be very easy to implement.
There has been a long discussion on the GnuPG mailing list:
http://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-users/2014-July/050281.html
--
You are receiving this mail because:
You are the assignee for the bug.
_______________________________________________
Kdepim-bugs mailing list
Kdepim-bugs@kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kdepim-bugs
