What is Email Encryption?
Email encryption scrambles the content of email messages, making them unreadable to anyone who doesn’t possess the decryption key. This safeguards sensitive information transmitted via email, ensuring only authorised recipients can access the content.
How does Email Encryption work?
There are two main approaches to email encryption:
- Transport Layer Security (TLS): This secures the communication channel between email servers, encrypting emails in transit from sender to recipient. Most email providers, including Microsoft 365, utilize TLS for basic email encryption.
- S/MIME and OpenPGP: These are encryption standards that encrypt individual email messages. They require both the sender and recipient to have encryption keys and compatible software to encrypt and decrypt messages.
Benefits of Email Encryption:
Enhanced data security: Email encryption protects sensitive information like financial data, personal details, or intellectual property in transit, minimising the risk of data breaches if emails are intercepted.
Improved regulatory compliance: Many industries have regulations mandating the encryption of sensitive data at rest and in transit. Email encryption helps organizations meet these compliance requirements.
Increased confidence in email communication: Knowing emails are encrypted fosters trust when sharing sensitive information via email, particularly with external recipients.
Reduced risk of accidental disclosure: Email encryption minimises the potential for sensitive information to be accidentally sent to the wrong recipient.
Use cases with Microsoft 365:
- Protecting sensitive communications: Microsoft offers solutions like Azure Information Protection (AIP) and Office 365 Message Encryption to encrypt emails containing sensitive data, ensuring they are only accessible to authorised recipients.
- Complying with regulations: Email encryption is crucial for organizations in industries with strict data protection regulations, such as healthcare or finance.
- Securing communication with external partners: When sharing sensitive information with external partners or clients, email encryption safeguards confidential data during transmission.
By implementing email encryption with Microsoft 365, organisations can significantly enhance the security of their email communications and protect sensitive data.
