> This is an open letter to the developers of the main SMTP servers
> that are used all over the Internet. In recent years, we have all
> seen in the news the many instances where our privacy has been
> compromised by big corporations or governments. Some recent
> examples include the recent survey results that showed over 50%
> of corporations in the USA check their employees Internet usage
> and e-mails
The problem with your solution is that server to server encryption
does not stop government and big corporations from looking at your
mail on the mail server after it has arrived. Ask any system admin
how hard it is to scan /var/mail or a users home directory. Answer,
it's trivial.
Since most users do not run their own mail servers, but access
one via POP/IMAP, your solution will not affect the vast majority
of people.
The *real* solution is to use some form of end-to-end encryption.
In other words, encrypt your email before it leaves your email
program (whether it be on a PC, a server or a handheld device) in
such a way that only the recipient can decrypt it. PGP and their
ilk already provide this capability.
What I do agree with is that doing this is currently way too
hard for the average user and any efforts to make this easier
are a good thing. But you need to direct your letter at the
email client programmers rather then the email server
programmers.
Regards.
