Abstract

None of the three largest webmail service providers (serving over 1 billion users) support end-to-end message encryption. Encrypted email has never seen mass adoption because it is prohibitive for non-experts to use. Private WebMail (Pwm) is our extension to popular webmail systems that lets users easily encrypt sensitive messages without having to first contact the recipient and share information. It is designed to spread quickly in a grassroots fashion so that a user receiving their first encrypted message can quickly and easily start using the system. This thesis describes the design and implementation of Pwm, then measures its usability through analysis and a user study.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Physical and Mathematical Sciences; Computer Science

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2014-03-07

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd6762

Keywords

secure email, webmail, end-to-end encryption, usable security

Language

English

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