A tool allowing you to encrypt the content of your emails if the person you write to also uses it.
As it is becoming increasingly easy for governments, private companies and malevolent hackers to access the content of our communications, encrypting emails has become a necessary “digital hygiene” measure for investigators who have to protect their content and sources.
It is unlikely you would want to send and receive all your regular mails on postcards, yet non-encrypted emails are no more secure than postcards. Using encryption comes down to the right to reclaiming an envelope.
GPG allows you to encrypt the content of your emails if the person you are writing to also uses it. When you download GPG you will have access to a server listing all the people using it. Even if you are writing to someone for the first time, you can easily check whether they have already set up GPG or not.
To find out how to set up GPG, check out the chapters on Thunderbird with GPG and Enigmail hands-on guides in Security-in-a-Box, a resource created by Tactical Tech.