Category: LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy

What is TLS? Secure Email 101

November 27, 2018

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a widely used protocol in email security, the other being Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Both are used to encrypt a communication channel between two computers over the internet. An email client uses the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) – which enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange data – […]

Will Email Ever Be Truly Secure?

November 6, 2018

Email gateways are a leading cause of security breaches. The optimistic view is that effective email security practices, firewalls, mobile device security, wireless security, endpoint security, web security, behavioral best practices, data loss prevention and network access control – among other solutions – can ensure foolproof security. The realistic view is that email – or […]

SIM-Swapping: Why SMS Authentication Is a Bad Idea

October 11, 2018

SMS authentication has been around for a while now. Sure, it’s a bit of a hassle to get those codes sent from your bank or your other accounts–especially if your phone’s in the next room–but at least it makes you feel safe. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near as safe as you may think. The concept of […]

HIPAA Email: Does it Require Encryption?

July 31, 2018

HIPAA’s encryption requirements fall in a grey area. This is mainly due to two reasons: encryption is required when ‘deemed appropriate’, which means email encryption is not absolutely necessary and ‘mutual consent’ can be used in place of encryption. there are a number of ‘addressable requirements’ pertaining to the technical safeguards as far as ePHI […]

Stronger Email Security with SMTP MTA STS: Strict Transport Security

July 25, 2018

Email transmission between servers has historically been extremely insecure. A new draft internet standard called “SMTP Strict Transport Security” or “SMTP MTA STS” is aiming to help all email providers upgrade to a much more secure system for server-to-server mail transmission. This article lays out where we are currently in terms of email transmission security […]