Email Security and Encryption

Email can be a real Achilles heel, partly because it is so familiar that it is taken for granted. The fundamental security issues surrounding its use are all too often overlooked. Much of this of course is down to lack of awareness and education. If a user or organization is not aware of the risks or exposures, appropriate controls and protection are hardly likely to be employed. Securing the information that exits a corporate network is often as important as defending the inbound email stream. Misuse of corporate information, data leakage and improper content can result in significant exposure. The rapid proliferation of Internet and email has dramatically increased the expense and complexity associated with effectively protecting businesses against viruses, pornographic material and SPAM. Leading edge technology combined with highly skilled professionals and honed processes is vital to combating the increasing threat to business email. This is an essential email solution.

Email security is quite the hype, and security software vendors and security consultants may scare you into thinking you need a hundred and one security measures put in place. They are right in that security is a must-have, but an email security solution can be a lot simpler. One of the best things to do is to encrypt your emails. If you are away on vacation you might send a postcard to family or friends – a picture with a “wish you were here” note on the back. But if you are writing a more personal letter you would probably seal it in an envelope. In this way you hope that no one else reads the message but the person to whom it is addressed. If you want the same to apply to your email, you would encrypt it. Encrypting your email will keep all but the most dedicated hackers from intercepting and reading your private communications. If you do not want hackers sifting through your mail, make it difficult for them and in future encrypt all of your messages. This will lead them off the track as they will not want to spend hours sifting through all your unimportant mail just to get to the juicy stuff.