I read an interesting post today that demonstrated a method of sending sensitive information to people in a reasonably safe way to ensure that the information does not fall into the wrong hands especially when the hands are not trying hard enough.

This method of passing important information moves away from the simple reply-and-attach model we routinely use to information to something that protects us at some extra level by using some of the internet services that have become ubiquitous and we are very familiar with like Dropbox and Evernote and zip utilities.

This matters a lot when your are sending stuff across the internet and most times to people you don’t know. May not apply in corporate environments but then those may have internal systems for dealing with sensitive information outside the email system.

The conclusion of the post is below which show why Merlin Mann makes sense.

Like anything that touches an open network–and most especially anything that touches email–it’s a solution that’s far from perfect. But, to my mind, it feels a little safer than crap like sending plaintext via email.

Seriously. My mind is boggled by how many people throw sensitive stuff around in email to complete strangers—the equivalent of writing a password on a postcard. Then pinning it to the corkboard in the laundromat. Insane.