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Client side encryption (CSE), a means of protecting and controlling access to personal or corporate data, has arrived Gmail.
In a blog post (opens in new tab) In announcing the news, the tech giant notes that while Google Workspace already encrypts data using secure cryptographic libraries, CSE Workspace gives users and administrators “total control” over their cryptographic keys and access to data.
Simply put, this should mean that no one can read sent messages emails or calendar items, but those in an organization and the recipients.
A Gmail encryption history
If The edge (opens in new tab) points out that Google has tried to bring CSE to Gmail since 2014 (opens in new tab).
In those halcyon days, the aftermath of The revelation of Edward Snowden of the fully legal and constitutional (*fingers crossed behind back*) surveillance programs of the US National Security Agency (NSA) meant that data privacy protections were on the minds of the whole world.
The leading encryption solution at the time was Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), an open-source standard that had been around for 20 years at the time and was totally unintuitive to an end user, who wouldn’t be able to reset a forgotten password, for example, because even Google wouldn’t keep them.
Google Made CSE available for other Workspace applications in October 2022, including the Drive solution for cloud storage, Docs, Sheets and Slides, as well as the Meet software for video conferencing.
CSE finally arriving for Gmail, Google Calendar, and the entire Workspace suite of apps suggests a middle ground has been struck. Those who work in industries that rely on privacy also seem optimistic about it.
“Client-side encryption gives us the next level of privacy to ensure integrity within the journalistic process,” said Sacha Morard, Chief Technology Officer of media conglomerate (and Google Workspace client) Groupe Le Monde.
“This allows us to guarantee a higher level of security for our journalists and protect our sensitive content.”