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Comment on So Austistici/Inventati just got designated as a "global terrorist organisation" by the Trump administration, what do I do now?

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diaphragmwp@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

Right. A user from another server sends you mail. The mail is unencrypted on their side because they don’t know your key yet, or they don’t know how to use OpenPGP, or it’s automated.

Servers talk SMTP between each other, not just a client sending mail.

< 220 mail.mailbox.org EpicServerSoftware7000
> HELO mail.riseup.net
< 250 mail.riseup.net Service ready for new user
> MAIL FROM:<coolskeleton98@riseup.net>
< 250 Requested mail action okay, completed
> RCPT TO:<chud@mailbox.org>
< 250 Requested mail action okay, completed
> DATA
< 354 Start mail input; end with <CRLF>.<CRLF>
> From: "CoolSkeleton98" <coolskeleton98@riseup.net>
> To: chud@mailbox.org
> Subject: Test Message
>
> Hey, this is a test message!
> .
>
< 250 Requested mail action okay, completed
> QUIT
< 221 mail.riseup.net Service closing transmission channel

The round trip time in this protocol is fucking insane, but that’s what the people in the year 1980 thought of. They never thought this would be used outside of universities.

Anyways, inevitably, mail.mailbox.org gets the message, unencrypted. It can encrypt it later, needs the key though.

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Ghoelian@piefed.social ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Yes I know how mail encryption works. The point is that mails get encrypted as soon as they enter mailbox’ servers, so mailbox can never know any contents, so they have nothing to hand over to authorities if they come asking. They do have to know the private key used for this though, that is a risk to consider. Of course, if you want fully secure mail, you need both parties agreeing on encrypting/decrypting the mail. Or just don’t use email, use a secure protocol instead.

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