The need to move to mandatory TLS encryption

[armdrejoan]

The abbreviation MTA stands for Message Transfer Agent, which is a program that transfers email messages between computers. The abbreviation STS stands for Strict Transport Security, which is the protocol used to implement this standard. An MTA-STS-aware message transfer agent (MTA) or secure message transfer agent (SMTA) operating in accordance with this specification provides a secure end-to-end channel for sending email over an insecure network.

The MTA-STS protocol allows an SMTP client to verify the india phone number list identity of a server and ensure that it is not connecting to an imposter by requiring the server to provide its certificate fingerprint in the TLS handshake. The client then verifies that certificate against a trust store containing known server certificates.


STARTTLS is not perfect and it fails to address two major issues: First, it is an optional measure, so STARTTLS cannot prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. This is because a MITM attacker can easily modify the connection and prevent encryption updates. Its second problem is that even if STARTTLS is implemented, it cannot verify the identity of the sending server like SMTP does. SMTP mail servers do not verify certificates.

Although most outgoing emails are now encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS), attackers can still intercept and tamper with emails before they are encrypted. If you send emails over a secure connection, your data could be compromised, modified, or tampered with by cyber attackers.