ProtonMail case tarnishes Swiss privacy reputation (2024)

FAQs

What is the Proton Mail privacy scandal? ›

The issue is that encryption does not guarantee anonymity. Proton is one of the more transparent privacy providers and does not make outlandish claims on its website. However, it still has access to some identifiable information, known as metadata, including email addresses and IPs.

Using Proton services for activities that break Swiss law is against Proton's terms and conditions. Under Swiss law, we're required to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on criminal investigations within the framework of Swiss laws and privacy regulations.

All ProtonMail data at rest and in transit is encrypted. However, subject lines in ProtonMail are not end-to-end encrypted, which means if served with a valid Swiss court order, we do have the ability to turn over the subjects of your messages.

Proton Mail is one of the smoothest and most secure email providers on the market. It's the perfect blend of slick, modern aesthetics, and robust, impenetrable security. The moment you sign in, you'll feel right at home. There's not a single hint of it being a secure email service, but it is.

Any mail send between Protonmail users is in concept, secure or encrypted. However, outside mail sent to a Protonmail account is going through a router in plain text. Mail sent from your company address to Protonmail is NOT secure. That is the majority of most mail.

Proton Mail (previously written as ProtonMail) is a Swiss end-to-end encrypted email service founded in 2013 headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland.

ProtonMail is encrypted, so you won't be able to track an email through ProtonMail, except through advanced methods which we will explain in this article. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a set of rules that governs the format of data sent via a local network or the internet.

of privacy. Proton is incorporated and headquartered in Switzerland, meaning your data is protected by some of the world's strictest privacy laws.

Swiss privacy laws are often considered more stringent and comprehensive compared to those in many other countries. While some countries may have similar data protection regulations, Switzerland's privacy laws are known for their strict enforcement and commitment to safeguarding individuals' privacy rights.

The major drawback of ProtonMail is that cost of paid plan is very expensive.2.It have only limited features in free plan like limited mails to send per day and low storage space.

What is the most hacked email provider? ›

Yahoo! Mail has a blemished history regarding data security and privacy. The massive data breach of 2013, where every Yahoo account was affected, is a testament to the lax security measures in place. That's approximately three billion accounts compromised, making it one of the largest breaches in history.

Tutanota Encryption:

That said, both Tutanota and ProtonMail users can communicate with the outside world by encrypting their messages with a password. ✅ In this regard, Tutanota does better than ProtonMail because it makes it possible to encrypt the entire email thread, instead of just one message.

In 2021, Proton Mail faced controversy when it complied with a legal request that led to the arrest of a French climate activist. Under Swiss law, Proton Mail was compelled to collect and provide information on the individual's IP address to Swiss authorities, who then shared it with French police.

User reports indicate no current problems at ProtonMail.

The message was then followed by an attack (believed to be from the group called the Armada Collective, which has been responsible for extortion of several private email services), that flooded ProtonMail's IP addresses and knocking the service offline for approximately 15 minutes.

Our service has dramatically expanded access to secure encryption. However, like any email service, it can be abused by scammers and criminals. We use algorithms that scan behavior indicators and anonymized usage data to identify and quickly disable abusive and fraudulent accounts automatically.

With Proton Mail, your messages and other data are protected by end-to-end and zero-access encryption, so no one but you can read them — not even Proton. With Proton Mail, you can: Control access to your data. Easily import your mail and contacts from Gmail and other providers in a few clicks.

Proton Mail is a service provided by Proton AG, an employee-owned company based in Switzerland.