Originally Posted by
canadiancow
Aren't most emails sent over secure lines?
Aren't most faxes... not?
It wouldn't be "easy" to intercept either, but it would be much easier for a malicious entity to intercept a fax than an email.
faxing is becoming secure thru obscurity
Medical profession still loves fax as they don't have to use a paid email encryption product such as Zixmail. even if a fax later gets scanned and posted online, the provider did their due dilligence and complied with US HIPPA laws during the transmission stage.
Yet they complain when they hear that their fax machine works best on an old analog POTS line vs the new cheaper SIP lines. SIP calls are almost always recorded so it would be super easy to replay a bunch of calls to a fax device and get copies made.
(I realized a while ago that entering a CC# can also be replayed which is why Aeroplan "secures the line" by pausing call recording....though I guess they may have miiions of unencrypted calls that all start out with an Aeroplan number and PIN sitting around on a 286 server.
Most emails are sent unencrypted with only partial in-transit encryption. They are then assumed to be saved forever by the sending or recipient server, company, and backup retenton policies. In addition to someone clicking on malware getting their entire company and emails exposed to a hacker, things contained in emails are easier to be caught in a blanket subpoena, and easier to be accessed without permission by coworkers/IT folks with backup/restore rights.