Guide to Email Encryption

Company email encryption keeps sensitive information private, prevents an individual from tampering with the contents of messages and authenticates the identity of the sender and recipient. A wider range of encryption solutions also encrypt files of all types as well as information in storage.

Email and instant messaging play a mission-critical role in your business. The more you rely on these technologies, the more open you are to risks, both internal and external. Whether you are developing a new email encryption policy or updating your company standards, easy-to-use email encryption is increasingly important to meet a wide variety of privacy and data protection regulations that now apply to industries of all sizes.

 If your company needs email encryption, consider the following:

1. What platform you will be loading the encryption software on?

2. Do you need simple encryption for email, or full document encryption with storage encryption as well?

3. Will you load the enterprise email encryption software on your company's servers or use an email encryption hosted server?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider hosted email encryption solutions

Hosted email encryption solutions will benefit your company by providing robust bandwidth, built-in redundancy, timely upgrades and knowledgable support from expert support technicians. Compare the extent of service, the support terms, guarantees of up-time and, of course, cost.

I recommend: For an email encryption hosted service, purchase either Microsoft Exchange Hosted Email or the more robust Microsoft Exchange Hosted Service for reliable and full-service email encryption solutions. Consider LiveOffice Encryption services, or contact a LiveOffice sales representative to purchase.

Purchase your own email encryption software

Your own IT personnel can load encryption software onto your company servers. This gives you flexibility when making changes to configurations, and may be more cost effective than a hosted service. Be sure to compare not only pricing, but the features of each program, as well as whether the software will easily expand with your business as it grows.

I recommend: For email encryption software, download a demo of Symantec's encryption product, or choose between two levels of encryption solutions from TrustTone Communications Inc.

Know the laws when using email security encryption software

There are important laws and regulations around encryption of email, especially when exporting. These laws may affect you if your business sends mass market emails to restricted countries.

I recommend: Carefully read the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security's commercial encryption export controls to fully understand the laws. Read the Bureau of Industry and Security's fact sheet as well.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Don't forget encryption for removable hard drives and laptops. These devices are especially susceptible to security threats because of their portability and your company email encryption policy should extend to them.

The official source of Email Encryption is the Email Encryption page at Business.com