Advice and answers from the Expert Insights team. Visit help centre. By Joel Witts Updated September 6th, What is Email Encryption? Enterprise Email Encryption The easiest way for organizations to implement email encryption is through an enterprise encryption solution.
Important Features to Look for in An Encryption Solution One of the most important features to look for when it comes to email encryption is a high-level of security use. The biggest factor informing the security of the encryption and how easy the service is to use is the method of encryption that the solution uses: Methods of Email Encryption TLS Encrypted Email: TLS encrypts email in transit to the recipient, stopping it from being intercepted.
Pros: Ensures all documents and attachments are delivered intact, looking good on all devices. Ensures senders and recipients can access encrypted emails directly from their inbox. Encrypted emails and attachments can be viewed even when the user is offline. Secure passwords can be set to access PDFs and Folders.
Cons: No controls to track email delivery. No controls to stop attachments being forwarded, downloaded or sent back to the user unencrypted. Web Portal Encryption: Web portal encryption is the most common delivery method for encrypted emails.
Pros: Secure, and normally is simple to get set up and use Can be completely white labelled and rebranded Messages are encrypted at every stage Users have a range of controls, such as secure passwords, read recipients, control over email forwarding and email recall Audits are easily available Cons: Can be time consuming for recipients to have to log in to view encrypted messages Many encrypted vendors will offer one or more of these methods of encryption, allowing customers to choose the right method for them.
We can only hope, that the next Android version will include built-in encryption solutions for your emails. When sending confidential information, no matter the degree of sensitivity, you should always be cautious.
Email encryption will protect your confidential information like your bank account number, social security number, etc. If stolen, this data is invaluable to cybercriminals.
To avoid such leaks, encryption is a must. Not only can your sent message be altered, but the attackers can later use it at their will. Generally, the cybercriminals might get a foot in the door with an altered genuine message, following up with spoofed emails. Sensitive information that you send through email is also the information that you use to confirm your identity.
In other words, email vulnerabilities are one of the easiest ways for attackers to obtain this private information, which immensely helps when stealing your identity. Forging genuine-looking messages is far too easy. Digital signatures added to encrypted email messages can help to confirm the identity of the sender. Generally speaking, encryption is possible at the transport level or end-to-end.
When you send an email, your client contacts the server to check whether it supports the requested protocol. The server shares a digital certificate confirming its identity. When it checks out, the two parties generate a unique exchange key used to encrypt and decrypt the messages. With end-to-end encryption, the message is encrypted and decrypted only at the endpoints.
The message is decrypted only at the final stage of arriving at the destination. It stays private from hackers and service providers alike. Some email services even have it built-in. End-to-end email encryption requires both the sender and the recipient to have a pair of cryptographic keys. The process is as follows:. It prevents any intermediary, including even the email service provider from ever finding out what the content of the message was.
Most apps used to share and exchange private keys are pretty secure. Just make sure that the app is actively maintained and regularly receives updates. Since by nature most of them are open-source it's easy verify by going to GitHub and looking at the data of latest versions. It's also possible to use lightweight addons like Mailvelope, but make sure that the receiving party also uses matching setup so that the exchange could be possible.
ProtonMail is one of the most popular options for privacy-minded individuals. We explain how to encrypt emails on multiple providers and summarize our tips in an infographic. Email encryption is essentially mixing up the contents of an email so it becomes a puzzle that only you have the key to solve.
The public key infrastructure PKI is used to encrypt and decrypt emails. Each person is assigned a public and private key in the form of digital code. This public key is what is used to encrypt the email. If someone wanted to send you an email with sensitive information, they would use your public key to encrypt it. The private key is used to decrypt emails.
Email encryption is important because it protects you from a data breach. Since , over 13 billion data records have been lost or stolen.
This number has grown by 6. Data breaches can be costly because they take a while to identify. In , the mean time to identify a breach was days and the mean time to contain it was 69 days. Email encryption is a preventative measure you can take to avoid being part of a cybersecurity statistic. Within this model, there is more flexibility and control over how well you want your emails to be encrypted, but it requires a third-party encryption tool.
When changing the encryption levels note these color codes:. Unlike most other secure email services, Mailfence is more of a general-use provider. It comes with some extra communications and planning features, and it allows you to send unencrypted emails. You can learn about these features and more in our full Mailfence review. Whether you prefer to use web-based services, email clients on your desktop or apps on your Android or iOS device, there are ways to help protect your privacy.
Just be sure to keep your private key hidden, as your recipient will only need your public key. You should also use a secure VPN , a strong antivirus and a reliable password manager to keep ISPs off your data, malware off your devices and criminals out of your accounts.
Have you tried to encrypt your emails? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, and check out our guide on how to encrypt text messages , too.
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