Google urged to make Gmail and Docs more secure

Privacy advocates have long been badgering Google to encrypt its many services such as Gmail, Calendar and Docs in order to protect users from unauthorized snooping, but after a group of 38 law professors, security experts, and computer scientists joined forces, Google has finally announced it will test a safer version of Gmail to see if it is a viable solution.

The group of professionals targeted the use of encrypted HTTPS which is used by many banks and other financial websites to help protect data while it is in transit.

While Google does currently offer the option to use the encrypted technology while accessing email, most users are not aware of its existence and it is not part of the default settings for a Gmail account which is what the group would like to see altered.

In an open letter mailed to Google from the group they wrote that there are Google customers who use the email platform and other services to prepare documents that may contain public information or sensitive information, that would put them and others at risk if not properly protected.

Google will test the new email in which HTTPS is automatically used on certain users’ emails beginning on Tuesday, in an attempt to see how users respond.

Currently, while HTTPS is activated for log-in, the inbox is not protected while open, making it easy to hack from a public location if the intent is present.

Google claimed in the past that they have sidestepped HTTPS because it slows down the access speed of email, but they are not the only email provider to do so.

Interestingly enough, although the group of professionals chose to target Google in particular, most of the other larger email providers such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, and others also do not offer encrypted HTTPS inboxes.

Google Software engineer, Alma Whitten, said that after Tuesday’s trial runs on randomly selected emails to represent most regions, the company will weigh the responses and reactions of clients to the change, to determine if they will make the large scale move to protecting the log in and email by default for all Google users.