Email Encryption is the technique by which email messages are secured when in transit between source and destination(s). Email encryption technologies can usually be classified into three types outlined below..
Site-to-Site Encryption
This is normally achieved by utilising Transport Layer Security or often referred to as TLS connections. TLS connections are configured by the network administrator and are site specific requiring the sharing of a certificate before encrypted messages can be transmitted between the two points.
The benefit to this email encryption mechanism is that the user experience here is totally transparent, they simply mail the recipient and the mail server encrypts the mail and delivers to the remote mail server where it is decrypted and relayed to the recipient.
The drawbacks with this is that it requires the administrator to pre-configure this connection and in addition a mail system that supports TLS encryption; this is fine if connecting back to corporate HQ or to a frequently used supplier where prior agreement has been reached but not practical for one-off communications or sites that may not have the technology or in-house skills to implement TLS.
Push Email Encryption
This is an innovative email encryption technology which requires technology at the sender but does not require any specific technology at the recipients end.
We offer two types of push email encryption technology depending on your compliance and email security requirement’s:
- The first mechanism encrypts the message at the gateway and delivers the message ‘encrypted’ to the recipient and the encryption key is held on a hosted service. The first time this technology is utilised it’s necessary for the recipient to validate their email address then they are given credentials to access the key and decrypt the message.
- The second mechanism again is to encrypt the message but this is delivered to the hosted service and not the end user, the end user received an email notifying them that they have an encrypted message available and need to log into the hosted service to retrieve the message securely.
Closed Circuit Messaging
This is a form of email encryption where the email is contained within the originating organisation and the recipient is again notified that they have received a secure message where they are required to logon with credentials following email validation to access the secure email via a web portal.