Email Security: Business Email Comes of Age

Take a Letter Ms Jones

There was a time not so very long ago that when you wanted to send a letter to your business partner, client or colleague you would just ask Your version of Ms Jones to listen to you while you dictated a letter. Not these days, Ms Jones is now probably our boss! How many business letters did you send last year? My bet is the number was in single figures. Now emails...? That's another matter probably in the hundreds if not thousands.

What's In Your Email?

So in amongst all these emails you send and receive have you ever stopped to think about how many contain potentially sensitive ideas, thoughts and figures? You see back in the day when you sent a business letter it was all nicely sealed in an envelope and even if your intended recipient did not actually open the sealed envelope themselves, the contents were placed in their in tray for their attention. The person opening it was authorised to do so as part of their job description. You see they were a colleague, a fellow employee of the company.

Surely An Email is More Secure

What's my point I here you say, surely an email is more secure it goes directly to the intended recipients in box. Nine times out of ten, ninety nine times out of one hundred it probably does. But even then how do you know it hasn't been read on route by someone else, other than the government of course? The answer is you don't. You can't even be certain that it has come from the person you think it has! Now are you still comfortable with sending all your business correspondents via email?

Back to the Drawing Board

Now I'm not for one minute suggesting we try to turn the clock back and all start calling for Ms Jones to take a letter. After all email is very convenient and super fast, but we could upgrade our email. Think encryption... In email terms it's like putting your email into an envelope and sealing it. If you were to utilise a product like Egress Switch secure email then you go a whole few steps further. No in fact you take a leap forward! With a product like that you introduce non-repudiation, data tracking, auditing and the ability to rescind access to the email's contents.

Sounds complicated

If you have ever tried using email encryption in the past you are probably laughing now, or shouting at the screen, "it's just too complicated". Time to think again and take a fresh look at what has been happening to email encryption whilst you have been happily sending the companies IP across the internet in clear text. The new breed of email encryption software has made the whole process no more taxing than sending a normal clear text email. By making use of the unique email address of both sender and receiver the whole issue of public and private key management has been simplified and buried in the product.

Check It Out

It's time you checked this one out before your company finds itself centre stage of a highly embarrassing press article. We all know how long and hard it is to forge a solid reputation in business, but I can tell you for sure, you can loose it over-night without even trying. Do yourself a favour... Check it out!

Useful links:

For information on file encryption software visit http://www.egress.com/solutions-large-file-transfer/

 

[Dhruv Bindhani]

The article raises a crucial and often overlooked point about the security of modern business communication, particularly email, by contrasting it with the perceived security of traditional physical letters. It effectively highlights the shift from dictated letters to voluminous emails and then questions the inherent security of this widely adopted medium.

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The Illusion of Email Security​

The author vividly recalls a time when business correspondence involved dictated letters, meticulously sealed in envelopes and handled by authorized personnel. This process offered a tangible layer of security and accountability. In stark contrast, today's business world is dominated by emails, sent by the hundreds or thousands daily, often containing sensitive information.

The article challenges the common assumption that email is inherently secure because it goes "directly to the intended recipient's inbox." It poses critical questions: How can you be certain an email hasn't been intercepted or read en route by unauthorized individuals (beyond government surveillance)? How do you verify the sender's identity? These questions underscore a fundamental vulnerability: emails are often sent as plain text, akin to postcards, rather than sealed letters. This lack of inherent security can lead to significant risks, especially when sensitive ideas, thoughts, and figures are transmitted.

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Upgrading Email: The Case for Encryption​

While acknowledging email's undeniable convenience and speed, the article asserts that it's time for an upgrade. The proposed solution is email encryption, which is likened to "putting your email into an envelope and sealing it."

The author specifically champions products like Egress Switch secure email, suggesting they offer a significant leap forward beyond basic encryption. Such solutions introduce advanced features critical for modern business security:

• Non-repudiation: Proving the authenticity of the sender and receipt.
• Data Tracking: Monitoring who accessed the email and when.
• Auditing: Maintaining a secure log of communication activities.
• Ability to Rescind Access: The power to revoke access to an email's contents even after it has been sent.

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Simplified Encryption for the Modern User​

A common deterrent to email encryption has been its perceived complexity, often involving intricate public and private key management. The article addresses this concern head-on, reassuring readers that the "new breed of email encryption software" has significantly simplified the process. By leveraging the unique email addresses of both sender and receiver, the underlying complexities of key management are now "buried in the product," making secure email as straightforward as sending a regular, unencrypted message.

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A Call to Action for Business Reputation​

The article concludes with a strong warning: companies risking their sensitive information via unencrypted emails could find themselves at the center of an "embarrassing press article." It emphasizes that while building a solid business reputation is a long and arduous process, it can be lost "over-night without even trying" due to security breaches. The final imperative is a direct call to action for businesses to "check it out" and invest in secure email solutions like Egress Switch to protect their sensitive communications and preserve their hard-earned reputation.