Developers of the Thunderbird email client about the intention to add in the Thunderbird 78 release, expected next summer, for message encryption and email signing with digital signatures based on OpenPGP public keys.
Earlier, similar functionality was provided by an add-on , which will be supported until the end of the Thunderbird 68 branch support (after Thunderbird 68, the option to install Enigmail will be removed). The built-in implementation is a new development prepared with the participation of the Enigmail author. The key difference will be the use of one of the libraries providing OpenPGP functionality instead of calling the external GnuPG utility, as well as utilizing its own key storage, which is incompatible with GnuPG key file formats and uses the same master password for protection as that used for safeguarding S/MIME accounts and keys.
The process of transferring keys and settings after migration from Enigmail to the built-in OpenPGP implementation will be automated. The previously available built-in support for S/MIME in Thunderbird will remain unchanged. A decision regarding the possibility of confirming key ownership through the (WoT) has not yet been made.
Source: opennet.ru
