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OpenPGPFrom CryptoDox, The Online Encyclopedia on Cryptography and Information SecurityOpenPGP is a non-proprietary protocol for encrypting email using public key cryptography. It is based on PGP as originally developed by Phil Zimmermann. The OpenPGP protocol defines standard formats for encrypted messages, digital signatures, and certificates for exchanging public keys. Beginning in 1997, the OpenPGP Working Group was formed in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to define this standard that had formerly been a proprietary product since 1991. Over the past decade, PGP, and later OpenPGP, has become the standard for nearly all of the world's encrypted email. By becoming an IETF Proposed Standard (RFC 2440), OpenPGP may be implemented by any company without paying any licensing fees to anyone. See AlsoExternal Links |