Why this change is necessary
As marketplace volume grows, vendor reputations become prime targets. Attackers attempt to intercept, replay or forge messages in order to redirect payments, inject fake addresses or gradually deanonymize frequent buyers.
Enforcing PGP for high‑tier vendors removes most of the low‑effort attack surface. Messages that are not encrypted with the expected key are rejected outright by the platform, and users see consistent key fingerprints embedded into the DRUGHUB interface instead of copy‑pasted blobs.
What exactly changes for communication
When you open a conversation with a high‑tier vendor, DRUGHUB now exposes their active PGP key, fingerprint and status at the top of the thread. Any attempt to send a plaintext message is blocked, and replies are accepted only if they are signed or encrypted with the correct key.
Informal chat remains possible for low‑risk interactions, but once an operation touches payment details, addresses or dispute handling, the platform switches into strict PGP‑only mode and will not deliver unprotected content.
Key discovery
Import the vendor key directly from the DRUGHUB profile, verify the fingerprint and pin it in your keyring for future sessions.
Encrypted exchange
Encrypt all sensitive fields — destinations, notes, dispute details — before sending. The interface guides you through the process.
Verified responses
Decrypt messages locally and validate signatures, ensuring they originate from the same cryptographic identity you agreed to trust.
Impact on users and vendors
Buyers get a cleaner mental model: if the vendor is marked as high‑tier, communication is always encrypted. Vendors gain protection against account hijacking attempts that rely on message tampering or fake dispute threads.
For both sides, the trade‑off is simple: a few extra seconds spent on key setup in exchange for significantly stronger guarantees that no third party is silently sitting between you and the marketplace.
Operational hygiene going forward
For best results, keep a dedicated PGP identity for DRUGHUB activity, store private keys on hardened devices and treat any sudden “key change” notices as suspicious until confirmed inside the platform interface.
PGP enforcement is one step in a broader roadmap that will continue to push more marketplace logic into cryptographically verifiable channels without sacrificing the straightforward, Netflix‑like experience of using DRUGHUB day to day.