Almost 100 organisations campaign for end-to-end encryption on Slack

Over 90 organisations have signed a letter addressed to Slack calling for end-to-end encryption on the online messaging platform.

Slack, a collaborative platform used by many organisations for internal discussion, currently does not support end-to-end encryption, which if introduced, would mean that all Slack messages can only be read by the reader.

Without end-to-end encryption, employees at Slack would be able to access any messages on its platform, and it could even allow employers to access private messages within their own company to upon request.

It also means easy access for law enforcement, and critically, hackers to read private internal messages.

The letter reads: “We are businesses, organisations, communities, and individuals who depend on tools like Slack to connect online.”

“We are activists organising for change; journalists who communicate with sources and about sensitive stories; nonprofits providing care and support for our communities; companies that need to streamline our processes and share our ideas…and other communities that use the Internet to connect with people all over the world,” it added.

However, “Slack has put the security of our communities in danger by not taking steps to ensure user safety.”

“We are calling on your to protect your users by providing the option to enable end-to-end encryption for messages to protect our privacy, and to add blocking, muting and reporting features to help protect users from harassment,” it concluded.

TechInformed has reached out to Slack for comment.