Yahoo to apply encryption to all user data

Yahoo has announced that it will add an encryption layer over all user data it stores. The decision likely has something to do with recent revelations about the NSA’s possible access to Yahoo’s user data.

Yahoo says all user data should be encrypted before the end of the first quarter of next year stored. By then, all information exchanged between Yahoo’s data centers must also be encrypted, a plan similar to Google’s. At the same time, users are given a choice whether to encrypt the data they send to Yahoo.

Previously, Yahoo, like several other American internet companies, came under fire for allegedly having access to user data by the NSA. With the encryption of the data, Yahoo probably wants to make it clear that it cares about user privacy, in an effort to regain lost trust. Yahoo has already announced that it will use SSL encryption for its webmail service.