Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Microsoft now encrypts your OneDrive connections and Outlook emails

OneDrive 4.2 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 002)OneDrive 4.2 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 001)

Microsoft’s OneDrive ( formerly SkyDrive ) is great if you need to store your files in the cloud and sync them between devices seamlessly. And with the recently introduced 15GB free tier , OneDrive has become even more competitive compared to Dropbox and its pedestrian 2GB free tier.

Also, Microsoft’s web-based email â€" which went through several rebranding efforts and is currently known as Outlook.com â€" has its loyal following.

Those who’ve been concerned about general security of their emails and OneDrive files needn’t worry as Microsoft now employs end-to-end encryption on both services to prevent eavesdropping as data travels between servers…

Announcing the opening of its first Transparency Center, Microsoft said in a blog post that OneDrive’s web interface, mobile apps and desktop sync clients now employ Perfect Forward Secrecy encryption to make it “more difficult for attackers to decrypt connections between their systems and OneDrive.” [1]

Forward secrecy uses a different encryption key for every connection, making it more difficult for attackers to decrypt connections. As for Outlook, Perfect Forward Secrecy encryption keeps you secure by protecting your emails as they travel between servers.

“This means that when you send an email to someone, your email is encrypted and thus better protected as it travels between Microsoft and other email providers,” wrote Microsoft.

The Windows maker collaborated with several international providers such as Deutsche Telekom, Yandex and Mail.Ru to ensure your mail remains protected and encrypted in transit to and from each email service.

The aforementioned Transparency Center opened on Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington campus to give governments the ability to review source code for the company’s key products so they could confirm for themselves there are no back doors.

Additional regional transparency centers are set to open in the coming months, to be announced soon.

The company last week updated its free OneDrive app [2] for the iPhone and iPad with camera backups in the background and other tweaks.

Links
  1. ^ blog post (blogs.technet.com)
  2. ^ free OneDrive app (itunes.apple.com)

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