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With total privacy high on the agenda for many business professionals, keeping what’s important away from prying eyes, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is one of the most secure ways to communicate privately and securely online. It’s a term that has become ubiquitous with many platforms, but what is end-to-end encryption?
E2EE allows only the communicating endpoints to see the data sent clearly so that a user can send a message or documents privately to another user and ensure private audio and video calls between two parties remain secure.
Anything between these endpoints cannot access the data, so it stays encrypted. This ensures only the intended parties will see this data, preventing anyone from intercepting private messages and sensitive information that’s being sent. This also includes the third-party software platform being used, helping achieve a secure connection.
However, many companies, while claiming to use E2EE, may not be as secure as you might think. Enterprise and Government users need to ensure that end-to-end encrypted data is true to its premise and not a variation of this. Choosing a secure platform that provides E2EE as intended is crucial, so how can you tell what end-to-end encrypted data is and what isn’t?
End-to-end encrypted data is any data sent between users, including communications and documents, that is encrypted and decrypted only at the endpoints. The endpoints refer to the software used by those communicating, such as a smartphone app or desktop application.
The message is created and encrypted on one end and then sent to a user on the other end for decryption and access. It’s only at these ‘endpoints’ that the data is clear and can be read. The servers used during this cannot interpret the encrypted data during transit, meaning software companies cannot see the details contained. However, this is only where true E2EE is being provided.
While promoting end-to-end encrypted data practices, some companies may not provide this at all. For example, some may treat the server as an endpoint rather than an actual end user.
This means an encrypted message is sent but intercepted at a mid-point before being forwarded to another user for decryption. This is called transit encryption or hop-by-hop encryption and is not the same as full E2EE. This represents bad industry practice and means users may not be getting the service they thought.
To ensure you are getting the intended E2EE, you should use software that provides data exchange between communicating parties that is encrypted and decrypted only at the endpoints – no transit encryption or where the server is the endpoint.
The whole idea of E2EE is to allow users to send encrypted data and communication on their side that can only be decrypted by the intended receiver, not by a server or other unintended party. Otherwise, the risk of data interception by malicious actors is high. Some companies will have the corresponding decryption key available on their server to decrypt messages while advising they offer end-to-end encryption. While partly true, they fail to disclose the entire journey of your data’s journey between you and the intended party.
If the software E2EE is being provided on uses modern and state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms, the following steps will be taken:
- Mutual Authentication – during account setup, when using software for the first time, the exchange and validation of public keys/certificates are generated. It ensures that both parties communicate with the provider's help to the right user when needed.
- Authenticated Key Exchange – before any encryption takes place, a set of cryptographic keys needs to be established between the communicating parties.
These need to be:
- Established directly between the endpoints, without the involvement of any middleman.
- Authenticated via digital signatures generated with the users' private keys.
- Established in an ephemeral way only for that particular data.
- E2EE via authenticated encryption – using a strong symmetric cipher, such as AES 256, the encryption takes place in an authenticated encryption mode such as Cipher Block Chaining (CCM) or Galois/Counter mode (GCM).
There are two main advantages of using end-to-end encryption in its truest form.
Reduced hacking risk – thanks to only the end users having the encryption key, fewer people can access the data unencrypted. In the event of hacking or compromised data, anything encrypted will stay this way without the corresponding keys. E2EE always ensures only the intended parties can see the data decrypted.
Superior privacy and safety online – E2EE provides complete control of your data, meaning business users can ensure no unintended use. This ensures privacy that other services that do not provide E2EE cannot match. If you are using software that uses hop-by-hop encryption, it means they can access and read the data on their server if they want to. This is also true even after deleting any messages.
As data protection laws become more stringent globally, organizations using E2EE must navigate a complex web of regulations to remain compliant. While E2EE provides superior security, it also creates challenges in meeting certain compliance requirements, such as auditability and lawful data access in regulated industries.
Key compliance concerns include:
1. Data Residency and Sovereignty
Many regulations, such as the EU's GDPR, mandate that data be stored and processed within specific geographic locations. Organizations using E2EE platforms need assurances that encrypted data complies with these requirements and is stored securely within designated regions. RealTyme supports these needs through on-premises and private-cloud deployments, ensuring ultimate data sovereignty.
2. Accessibility vs. Security
Some regulations, like those in the financial and healthcare sectors, require that organizations maintain access to communication records for audits or investigations. While E2EE protects data privacy, it can complicate compliance with these mandates. Platforms must offer solutions that balance privacy with regulated transparency, such as secure audit logs that retain metadata without compromising the content of encrypted communications.
3. Cross-Border Data Transfers
In a globalized world, transferring data across borders can expose organizations to legal risks. E2EE platforms must ensure compliance with international data transfer regulations, providing tools to safeguard data when moving between jurisdictions.
While current end-to-end encryption (E2EE) relies on robust cryptographic algorithms to ensure privacy, the rise of quantum computing presents a potential challenge to these methods. Quantum computers, with their immense processing power, could theoretically break existing encryption algorithms, including the asymmetric cryptography used in many E2EE systems today.
To address this, the cryptographic community is actively developing post-quantum cryptography—encryption methods resistant to quantum attacks. These new algorithms aim to ensure that even in a world where quantum computing becomes mainstream, encrypted communications remain secure.
Platforms offering true E2EE must start preparing for this evolution by integrating quantum-resistant algorithms. For example:
- Hybrid Cryptographic Approaches: Some forward-thinking systems are combining traditional cryptography with post-quantum algorithms to provide a dual layer of protection.
- Public Key Infrastructure Updates: Modernizing how keys are exchanged to include quantum-safe methods is critical to future-proofing secure communications.
RealTyme ensures its encryption protocols are built with adaptability in mind, preparing organizations for the post-quantum era. This commitment to continuous improvement helps mitigate the risks posed by advancing technology.
With technology developing rapidly and those looking to take advantage using more sophisticated techniques to intercept data, having just end-to-end encryption to rely on is not enough to protect your interests. From both casual to business users, taking necessary precautions is vital.
Here at RealTyme, we take your data privacy seriously and provide a service with E2EE at its core, but with additional features that other software cannot provide.
Higher Privacy – service providers can utilize traffic analysis and metadata for their own advantage. WhatsApp is an example of a platform that uses E2EE but can still leak significant amounts of data on the server end. The RealTyme platform has no access to your metadata.
Higher Data Protection – having a lack of data at rest encryption and secure data backup on the end device may result in data leaking despite E2EE. This can occur in software that only provides E2EE in transit but stays clear on the device to any potential malware or spyware, such as on an iPhone.
Even the iCloud backup data can be compromised in this scenario. RealTyme provides much higher data protection to avoid this happening to you.
Ultimate Data Sovereignty – other services may provide E2EE for payload data in transit, but this leaves other metadata unprotected. This is available to service providers on the server side, meaning ultimate data sovereignty is not possible.
E2EE needs to be coupled with protected and controlled deployments via on-premises/private-cloud installations. We provide this with the RealTyme platform for an unrivaled service.
Learn more about our services at RealTyme and discover true end-to-end encryption for those who take data privacy seriously. Request an invite by booking a demo today.
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