As time goes by, technology evolves. For the last decade, technology has revolutionized the way things work. That’s why it’s common for business owners to ask themselves the following question: “Is email encryption necessary?”
More and more we use our emails on a daily basis. Whether it is for personal or professional use, we can’t deny the fact that our emails contain sensitive information. With the rise of cybercrime, it’s imperative that companies protect their data at all costs.
For this reason, we’ll go over the importance of email encryption. Not only that, but we’ll also tell you the main dangers that can happen to you whenever you don’t encrypt your emails.
So, keep on reading to learn more!
What Is Email Encryption and Why Is It Important?
In simple terms, email encryption works by disguising your data using a public-key infrastructure. This infrastructure often includes a key and a private encryption key pair. Additionally, encryption involves authentication in most cases. By codifying a company’s data, it can’t be intercepted by third parties.
Generally speaking, there are two types of encryption protocols: transport-level encryption and end-to-end encryption. Transport-level consists of a faster and easier setup that grants basic protection to plain text data. On the other hand, the second protocol counts on a much more difficult encryption that makes it hard to intercept.
So, is email encryption necessary for companies? By counting on both these protocols, you ensure that any file sent remains between the person sending it and the intended recipient.
As you may already know, companies count on lots of sensitive information. From login credentials to credit card and Social Security numbers, this confidential data needs to be kept private at all times.
Moreover, it’s very likely that a lot of this data is often daily shared through thousands of emails. After all, sending emails acts as the predominant option of communication for companies. When you don’t encrypt your email accounts, anyone can see the information you send. This can make data leaks much more prone to happen.
Risks of Not Counting On Email Encryption for Your Business
Sadly, email encryption isn’t as common as you might think. When it comes to cybersecurity, most business owners tend to use basic antivirus softwares and complicated passwords. However, data protection goes beyond that, especially if you count on cloud-based tools.
So, what happens when businesses don’t encrypt their email accounts and why is email encryption necessary? Here are 3 risks that can occur when you have unencrypted email:
Data Breaches Happen
As you may imagine, the lack of encrypted messages and encryption keys on your email makes it susceptible to breaches. If data gets leaked, it’s very likely that you’ll need to worry about costly expenses as consequence. Some of these consequences include lawsuits, damage to your company’s reputation, and remediation.
Data Can Be Lost or Intercepted
Because data is left open, email messages can be intercepted, lost, mistaken by users, or simply misappropriated.
Data interception happens when a third-party, or someone who wasn’t the intended recipient, reaches the data sent. This event happens when people reach the data with encrypted mobile devices that were stolen or lost.
Another thing can happen when not encrypting a company’s email is mistakenly sending data to the wrong person. With an email certificate, recipients digitally sign the email, thus serving as an authentication process.
Also, there’s the chance that discontent employees leak information whenever your email’s aren’t encrypted.
Your Company’s Reputation Is Hurt
Lastly, you can never forget the damage a data breach can give to your company’s reputation.
As you may already be aware of, famous companies that suffered from a data breach now count on a bad reputation. This infamy can cause companies to lose precious stockholders, investors, existing customers, and potential clients.
When this sort of situation happens, companies need to think of both short-term and long-term solutions, often ending up in expensive costs as well. These solutions usually include new updated policies, stronger cybersecurity systems, and more.
Which Are the Main Things Businesses Should Encrypt?
By knowing the main risks of not encrypting your company’s email, it’s only natural to ask yourself WHAT elements need encryption. There are three main things you should consider when encrypting email messages if you want a secure email:
- Email address and messages
- Email provider connection
- Stored, archived, or cached messages
By encrypting these things, you’ll be able to prevent any unfortunate events from happening. Not only will it make encryption help keeping data with limited access, but it will make it unreadable for anyone who tries to obtain it. That way, you’ll be able to keep hackers at bay.
