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http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,119432,00.asp
Not bad, looks like a plan 🙂 This will be popular, I would imagine for business users.
No offense but I don’t see why anyone would need this. You say business users might like it, but what business user would discuss information THAT important over an IM network, or even the internet for that matter. And I don’t think the average resident would need it, since most people aren’t discussing things that are interesting enough to the point where other people would try and find out what they are saying.
I also don’t think someone would try and intercept IM packets in order to ease drop on competitors or to steal information or anything like that. It’s a stupid idea, and actually locating the screename of a specific person would be just as hard as trying to listen in on what they are typing.
Just another uneeded luxury for the paranoid business user…
Being a business user of instant messaging myself, I don’t think that this will be “popular among business users.” No, this will be popular among paranoid security wonks who won’t be happy until we unplug our computers and go back to carving messages in stone tablets.
Most encryption that is used by businesses is a legislated requirement. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires brokers to encrypt instant messages. And someguy, I can imagine someone trying to eavesdrop on trading information.
But 90% or more of all business instant messaging would never really need encryption.
What will happen? The IT security guys (whose very job definition requires them to be unnaturally paranoid) will scare the executives into thinking it’s really important, and then it will be implemented (at great expense to the company and at great inconvenience to the average employee). Or some governing organization will mandate encryption for certain types of communications.
Encryption isn’t a bad idea, especially in areas where research is expensive and the competition is intense. But it’s not something that the average business user is clamoring for.
Businesses do need encryption, especially when they are having conversation on top secret deals or projects. Also when passing sensitive information across, like bank accounts, telephone numbers and other personal information. On the internet corporations are only too aware of hackers who will intercept conversation, to get internal corporation information. In business online, don’t be so sure your private IM sessions are not readable, and that hackers will intercept them. Leakages are only too common for corporations, and could cost businesses alot of money if the wrong internal information falls into the wrong hands. Enryption is an extra layer of protection. I’d rather be safe than sorry, if I was discussing something I didn’t want the public to find out about over IM.
Lots of businesses already use encrypted IM. Enterprises ask for encryption, so the software makers give them it. Perhaps Jeff could start a poll about message encryption on the forum?
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