Encryption race continues as Microsoft bulks up protection for email and file storage

6 hours ago Jul. 1, 2014 - 8:09 AM PDT

Microsoftis nowencrypting messages flowing between its own Outlook.com mail service and third-party mail providers using Transport Layer Security, and has also enabledPerfect Forward Security in Outlook.com and OneDrive file storage. Perfect Forward Secrecy usesa different encryption key for each connection, according to a Microsoft Technet blog.

TLS support means that mail flowing into and out of Outlook.com accounts is encrypted and thus better protected as it travels between Microsoft and other email providers, as long as those other email vendorsalso support TLS, wrote Matt Thomlinson, VP of Microsofts trustworthy computing security group.

Microsoft rival Google last month called for other email providerstomake use of Perfect Forward Secrecy technology so that messages areprotected from theirpoint of creation to theirdestination.

Thomlinson also said Microsoft worked withinternational mail providers including Deutsche Telekom, Yandex and Mail.Ru to test and help ensure that mail stays encrypted in transit to and from each email service.

Ever since Edward Snowdens disclosures about the U.S. National Security Agencysnooping on cloud customer data, U.S. cloud providers have been falling all over themselves to prove they are good stewards of customer information.

Microsofts general counsel Brad Smith, who spoke on the topic at Gigaomsrecent Structure Conference, has been in the forefront of that fight.

These companiessayunchecked (and secretive) government data gathering is bad for their businesses and argue that its also bad for the U.S. in general. The NSA disclosures have given non-U.S.-basedcloud providers a powerful marketing tool to argue that German citizens (or companies) should stick to German providers for their cloud computing needs; ditto France, and so on.

NowU.S. tech powers likeMicrosoft, Hewlett-Packard, Google and so on have to showthat they are prepared to fight even fight the U.S. government, if need be to protect customer data.

At Structure, HP EVP Bill Veghtesaid NSA-gate had hurt cloud adoption in China, which is building infrastructure like gangbusters while U.S. vendors have to deal with spying concerns. Its just a bummer, he said.

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Encryption race continues as Microsoft bulks up protection for email and file storage