Hushmail is a free webmail service which offers PGP-encrypted email, file storage, vanity domain service, and an instant messenger (Hush Messenger). It was founded in May 1999 by Hush Communications (based in Dublin, Ireland). Hush Communications was founded in November 1998.
Hushmail is used by some people who are in the belief that it is completely secure. However, it is only secure when sending an email to another Hush user. Email to recipients who are not Hush users will be sent as cleartext (i.e., not encrypted). Furthermore, if Hush's equipment or software is subverted (accidentally or deliberately), the security would be compromised even more. In addition, there might come to be demands from Ireland's legal system to reveal the content of traffic through the system. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the RIP Act requires that users supply the keys used for encrypted material on demand. Should Ireland adopt a similar statute, this vulnerabilty might develop for Hushmail.