Google this week launched another attack on the NSA with a new Chrome add-on called End-to-End, which promises to keep users' data safe from prying eyes.
Aimed at folks who feel even the new Gmail encryption measures aren't quite enough, End-to-End promises that data leaving your browser will remain encrypted until the intended recipient decodes it, and vice versa.
End-to-end encryption tools are not new, but they do require what Google Security and Privacy product manager Stephan Somogyi called "a great deal of technical know-how and manual effort"—traits most Internet users don't have.
So, the Web giant on Tuesday released the source code for its new Chrome add-on, hoping savvy users will test and evaluate the program ahead of its public debut. Financial rewards were promised to those who find security bugs in the code. Once Google is satisfied that the extension is ready for primetime, End-to-End will hit the Chrome Web Store, allowing even the most unseasoned user to send and receive end-to-end encrypted emails.
"We recognize that this sort of encryption will probably only be used for very sensitive messages or by those who need added protection," Somogyi wrote. "But we hope that the End-to-End extension will make it quicker and easier for people to get that extra layer of security should they need it."
Google in March upped the safety ante by making Gmail HTTPS-only, meaning the mail service no longer allows more insecure HTTP connections.
But not everyone has made the same commitment as Google. According to a Transparency Report update from Google, many email providers don't encrypt messages while in transit—including Groupon, Pinterest, Amazon, Comcast, and Verizon, among others.
"When you send or receive emails with one of these providers, these messages are as open to snoopers as a postcard in the mail," Google said.
In fact, the search titan's data shows that 40 to 50 percent of emails sent between Gmail and other providers aren't encrypted.
Though, as Gmail Delivery Team tech lead Brandon Long pointed out in a blog post, many services have turned on encryption, and others have promised to do the same.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Comcast had pledged to encrypt user email.
