ProtonMail, a secure email service, is launching an encrypted contacts manager today for its users. The manager provides "zero access" to contacts, ProtonMail says, meaning the company can't view what users have saved. It also features a digital signature that should prevent anyone from compromising or tampering with contact details.
ProtonMail says attackers could compromise a user's communications by editing a contact's email address or phone number without that user realizing. The verified signature prevents against this by requiring a private key to make edits. This key is also integral to the company's method for securing contacts in general. Every email account has a unique private and public key pair for contacts. That private...