Share, and Use PGP Encryption Keys for Secure Communication
A fundamental requirement for this article is a basic understanding of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). For a comprehensive explanation, please refer to our blog for details.
We advocate the adoption of PGP, especially when locally managing end-to-end encryption for the highest level of security.
Additionally, PGP keys can also be managed on the server side: in Roundcube they are stored on the server, in Settings → PGP Keys.
In this article we show how to use roundcube.servermx.com to exchange secure emails with PGP encryption.
The scenario: Alice and Bob want to send each other encrypted and signed emails.
1) Alice and Bob create their key pairs: Settings → PGP Keys → Create. Leave the identity selected, choose the key type and a password, then click Save.
It's crucial to remember this password: it is not stored, and recovery is not possible. You will need it to sign the emails you send and to read the encrypted emails you receive.
2) Alice and Bob export their public keys: select your key, click Export and choose Export Public Keys Only. A small .pgp file is saved on your computer. Send it to the other person, for example as an email attachment.
Never share the secret (private) key.
3) Alice and Bob import the other person's public key: Settings → PGP Keys → Import, choose the .pgp file and click Import.
4) After the import Bob can see Alice's public key, and vice versa. The imported key is shown as "public key", your own as "key pair".
5) Alice sends an email to Bob: in the compose window, under Options and attachments, she turns on Digitally sign this message and Encrypt this message, then clicks Send. Roundcube asks for the password of her key to sign the message.
6) Bob receives Alice's email encrypted and signed: the padlock shows that it is encrypted. When he opens it, Roundcube asks for the password of his key.
7) The email is decrypted and the signature is verified: "Message decrypted" and "Verified signature from Alice".
