Re: Fax
You clearly have never been near to secure email and ephemeral key systems and even the use of capital letters won't hide that, but let's leave that aside.
Let's start with your baseline assumption that there is, indeed, a physical fax machine instead of the fax-to-email that is even built in to some fax machines. That means protecting a physical device at the point of reception (as stated before). You will also have a job finding a machine without storage buffer, as most of the machines now have one for receiving when the paper is out, and a few use that buffer also for reprint or retransmission (read: STORE the last transmission, so no more ephemeral options for you).
That's your end point, but you also seem to be under the very much mistaken impression that the use of PSTN somehow magically secures this transmission. Do you really think it's still a game of someone slipping a couple of crocodile clips onto some contacts that are in movies always at a conveniently accessible spot outside the building?
PSTN switches are now without exception all electronic and most voice comms goes in the background via VoIP - eminently tappable and for faxes convertible into a TIFF (usually, as that's the simplest format conversion) on remote, because those switches are no longer poked at by a man in a van. Just like any other IT gear management and control is done remotely and yes, plenty of instances where that remote management was about as well secured as your average Windows PC (i.e. inadequately). Or you pay to play, because PSTN traffic happens to be tappable by default as that happens to be a standard condition of license for every single telco in Europe. Yes, every single one of them is equipped to tap your precious fax traffic at the press of a few buttons.
Not so for Internet traffic (although they try, but it's easy to secure), but switches are by default capable of setting up intercept of anything traversing PSTN because they have to, it's a mandatory requirement.
You're also asserting that your precious fax machines can be secured, and at the same time state that email reception cannot. I question both those assertions. The former because the devices are too simple, the latter because I seem to know more about email than you do.
Anyway, please enjoy your faxes. Just don't put anything confidential on them.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
