![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/end-to-end-660.png\")
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You may not understand how end-to-end encryption works, but you use it all the time. It protects your messages and emails, your purchases and bank transfers, and your access to websites and services. Governments around the world have tried to prohibit end-to-end encryption because they want to be able to listen in on what you say and spy on what you do.<\/p>\n
In the UK, the government is planning a PR blitz<\/a> to try to paint end-to-end encryption as dangerous, in reaction to Facebook adding end-to-end encryption to its Messenger app. The main thrust of their campaign is to paint end-to-end encryption as endangering children.<\/p>\n If end-to-end encryption is made illegal, you would not be able to do very much on the internet, at least not securely. Here are 10 ways that end-to-end encryption protects you.<\/p>\n Every time you log into your bank’s website, or use its app, all the data you send and receive is protected by end-to-end encryption. You can see your bank balance, but no one else can. You know how much you’ve spent on something, how much your salary is, and how much your mortgage costs, and you can transfer money to other accounts or people.<\/p>\n End-to-end encryption is essential to protect data in transit; between your computer or smartphone and the server you connect to. This data doesn’t go directly from your device to the server; it goes over a number of routers and servers along a path that may not be anywhere near direct, depending on internet traffic.<\/p>\n Here’s an example. I used an online traceroute tool<\/a> to show the “hops” between a request to connect to apple.com from a dozen different cities. I’ve removed some of the data to only show IP addresses:<\/p>\n 1.|– 45.79.12.202 You can see some similarities in the IP addresses above, so it looks like the data is going through multiple servers on the same network (hops 1, 2, and 3; hops 5 and 6), but there are six servers routing data between the sender and receiver.<\/p>\n Any of those servers could be compromised by a “man in the middle” attack, and, if the data was not encrypted, it could be intercepted. Your banking information could go through a dozen or more servers, with varying levels of security protecting them from cybercriminals, and, in same cases, remain on those servers for some time, in caches. If the data is encrypted from end to end, then once it leaves your device, it’s only decrypted when it gets to your bank.<\/p>\n Without end-to-end encryption, it would be like sending a postcard, which anyone could read before delivery.<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos wouldn’t be so wealthy if not for end-to-end encryption. The fact that you can use HTTPS (the secure hypertext transfer protocol) to transfer data to and from websites means that you can enter a credit card number, its expiry date, and its CVV, and not be worried about it being intercepted along the way. All e-commerce sites use HTTPS, and you should never enter a credit card number if you don’t see a padlock in your web browser’s address bar. (Our 7 essential tips to stay safe shopping online<\/a> article explains this, and gives other security tips for online shopping.)<\/p>\n1. Online banking<\/h3>\n
\n2.|– 45.79.12.2
\n3.|– 45.79.12.9
\n4.|– 213.248.83.174
\n5.|– 62.115.137.106
\n6.|– 62.115.151.71
\n7.|– 17.253.144.10<\/p>\n2. Online shopping<\/h3>\n