
Over the past few decades, email has become the primary mode of professional communication for many organizations. For teams that work remotely, email is often the most efficient way to send business documents, schedule meetings, and collaborate on projects.
However, if your emails aren’t encrypted, they could inadvertently expose sensitive data to hackers. Encryption uses cryptography to scramble your message, creating a ciphertext that is indecipherable to any third parties spying on your communications. The only way for the intended recipient to decode the message is with a secure key.
Today, the risk of a cyberattack is higher than ever, and email encryption is a must for keeping your messages safe. Here’s five reasons why you should always encrypt your email messages.
Key Takeaways
- Encryption uses cryptography to scramble your emails in transit so third parties can’t access them.
- Encrypting your messages keeps them private and can help protect your business from cyberattacks.
- Incorporating encryption standards into your cybersecurity protocols can help you remain compliant and build trust with your customers.
1. Protects Sensitive Information
Many people share sensitive information in their emails without even realizing it. For example, if you’re collaborating on a project with your coworkers, your emails might contain valuable intellectual property or proprietary product data.
If you use email to communicate with clients, your messages might also contain their personally identifying information or financial data. Outside of work, you might also share sensitive information in your personal communications.
When sensitive information gets into the wrong hands, it compromises your privacy, as well as the security of your clients and your business.
By using encrypted emails, you ensure that this sensitive information stays safe and is only read by the intended recipient. When the contents of an email you want to send are sensitive, you should always use an encryption solution, just in case.
2. Ensures Compliance With Data Privacy Regulations
To protect consumers, many governments have implemented data privacy and cybersecurity regulations for businesses in certain industries. For example, HIPAA requires email communication that contains protected health information to be encrypted.
Other standards, such as California’s CCPA, don’t explicitly require businesses to use email encryption, but strongly recommend it to prevent data breaches.
Data privacy regulations and laws can vary depending on your location or your industry. However, failing to comply with them could put your business at risk of fines or even legal action. This is particularly true if your unencrypted emails lead to a data breach that exposes consumer information.
3. Prevents Email Interception and Hacking
Today’s cybercriminals are ambitious and highly strategic, having developed a wealth of strategies for hacking into their victims’ emails. One analysis found that just 0.06% of emails are encrypted, leaving the vast majority of emails open to interception.
Encryption serves as an impenetrable line of defense to keep cybercriminals out and prevent hacking. The cryptography used in a message with modern encryption is so sophisticated that it would take years to crack with brute force methods, essentially making it impossible for hackers to read.
Most email encryption technology uses public key infrastructure, or PKI. The email encryption service generates a pair of encryption keys for the message—one public, one private. The recipient needs the private key to open the encrypted message.
There are two standard types of email encryption: S/MIME and Pretty Good Privacy, or PGP. S/MIME encryption is better for multimedia messages, while PGP is designed for plain-text messages. Both forms of encryption are effective for warding off hackers.
4. Builds Trust With Clients and Partners
Today’s consumers are very aware of the current digital threat landscape and are very discerning with their data. Offering secure email communications can help potential clients feel more comfortable sharing personal or sensitive information, building trust for the long term.
This is particularly important for businesses in industries like healthcare, banking, law, or real estate, where clients often need to share detailed personal or financial information with service providers.
End-to-end email encryption is also helpful for building trust in B2B partnerships. Many organizations have very high security standards for the service partners they work with. Encryption allows for secure communications between both parties, establishing the trust necessary for success.
5. Prevents Business Disruptions
Using email encryption can help prevent frustrating business disruptions that stem from data breaches and cyberattacks.
If a hacker is successful in compromising your systems, you’ll need to take time to assess the damage, re-secure your systems, and inform any customers who were affected.
The recovery process can interfere with your businesses’ daily routine and productivity. These disruptions can also damage your reputation and make it difficult to acquire new customers.
Using encrypted secure messages makes your business far less vulnerable to cyberattacks, which can help you avoid these frustrating disruptions.
How Can Tech Advisors Help With Email Encryption?
For growing businesses, implementing cybersecurity strategies like email encryption can be time-consuming or overwhelming. Tech Advisors offers managed IT services to help you implement these essential cybersecurity measures and keep your systems safe.
We’ll help you configure your systems appropriately, implement email encryption and other key security tools, and monitor your systems for potential threats.