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End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Plugin

3 years ago
Minerva Messenger Support Team
2 minutes

This plugin enables end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in Minerva Messenger,  aiming to authenticate, encrypt, and decrypt messages on the users’ devices.

Quick Start 

  • Navigate to any channel or direct message, and type in the following slash commands.
  • /e2ee init generates your private key and displays a backup. You can save this backup in a secure location (e.g., KEEPER, your private laptop, etc.) and then reimport it to another browser or use it on a new device. Please notice that your private key must include the full text between ----BEGIN MM E2EE PRIVATE KEY---- and ----END MM E2EE PRIVATE KEY----- as well as these headers.

  • /e2ee show_backup displays your private key. However, the precondition is: if a GPG server key has been configured, and a public key associated with your Mattermost account’s email exists, you will be asked to verify that the GPG key server used to get that key and the public key ID retrieved itself are legit. If you confirm, you will receive a GPG encrypted backup of your private key.
  • /e2ee import  activates a dialog box where you can paste your private backup key.
  • /e2ee init --force erases the existing key. If you forget the previous private key, this command enables you to generate a new one.
  • /e2ee start sets the current channel in encryption mode. Now you can send your top-secret message on the channel.
  • /e2ee stop deactivates encryption for the current channel.
  • /e2ee help shows a help message with the available commands.

 

Use Case 

The encrypted message can only be read on one platform after setting the current channel in encryption mode. For instance, if you start the e2ee on the MM desktop client, you won’t be able to read old encrypted messages via browser.

Via desktop:

Same channel via browser:

Therefore, this end-to-end plugin could be sufficient for the needs of the lab work in which several team members may use a shared device. Chatting with the private key on your personal device, and other users won’t be able to read your old messages from the public laptop.

Please notice that the E2EE plugin is available only via the Desktop client and browser. Kindly access Minerva Messenger in Safari or other browsers if you would like to initiate the plugin via mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.).

 

References

Mattermost End-to-End Plugin