At Open-Xchange we value the privacy and security of our customer’s data, and with the OX Guard product we have been promoting encrypted email for everyone (not just security professionals) for several years. In that context we welcome WhatsApp’s rollout of end-to-end encryption to its entire user base.
We also recognize the potential challenges faced by organizations that offer encryption without giving governments a “backdoor” to decrypt messages; we are sometimes asked to give documentation to our customers that they can give to law enforcement to explain why they are not able to comply with interception requests.
However at Open-Xchange we feel strongly that users should be given the choice of strong encryption without backdoors, as a backdoor can be used by criminals and hackers, not just the people for whom is is intended.
We hope that the WhatsApp announcement, along with the recent Apple vs FBI case, helps to drive more end-to-end encryption services, particularly in systems such as email which are based on open standards, and not just closed, proprietary systems like WhatsApp and iMessage.
