Maximizing E-mail Security Roi – Part V – A New Twist To An Old
Problem: Email Encryption

Th
is is the last of a five-part series on Maximizing Email
Security ROI
Throughout the ages, people have encrypted communications to
suit their information security needs
In the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar didn’t trust the couriers
who carried his messages to trusted acquaintances So, he
replaced every A with a D, every B with an E, and so on, all the
way through the alphabet Only those who knew Caesar’s
shift-by-three rule could decipher his messages Over 2000 years
later, we’re still trying to protect our messages from prying
eyes (If you have not read CipherTrust’s white paper on Privacy
Architecture, you can download it free
here)
In the Information Age, email is the primary method of
communication for businesses around the world While email has
become a mission-critical application, it also raises important
privacy and security concerns Sensitive personal and business
communications are vulnerable to the prying eyes of hackers,
industrial spies and others who would love to have access to
information not intended for them Because of these risks,
businesses are realizing the value of encrypting their email
communications to protect vital information while in transit
from origin to destination

Asset/IP protection

Enterprises that fail to adequately protect information in
transit across the Internet risk revealing their most vital
secrets Each unencrypted email exposes sensitive data – from
confidential financial and product information to legal
contracts to files that include personally identifying
information such as Social Security numbers, birthdates, credit
card numbers and bank account numbers
Failure to encrypt email communication is akin to sending a
digital postcard into cyberspace Sure, there’s a chance that it
will reach its destination without crossing a snooping pair of
eyes, but there’s also a chance that it won’t You wouldn’t send
a postcard with your vital trade secrets, financial data and
customer information on it, so why would you send an unencrypted
email containing the same?

Compliance and Liability

State and federal regulations targeting financial and personal
data affect almost every enterprise, with mandates to protect
and secure all forms of information While these regulations
rarely explicitly mention email, the laws are broadly written
and generally interpreted to cover email and other forms of
electronic communication
Publicly traded enterprises, particularly those in the banking
and healthcare industries, must guarantee privacy and security
of customer or patient information in email by encrypting the
message and monitoring outbound email for unencrypted or
inappropriate patient or customer information In addition to
protecting private information through policy enforcement,
companies are responsible for protecting private information
while in transit across the Internet
Failure to encrypt confidential information that results in a
violation of regulatory policy can lead to steep corporate fines
as well as possible criminal charges, fines and jail time for
company executives In addition, the company faces likely
lawsuits from customers and patients whose confidential
information is compromised
To help ensure security of confidential information and
compliance with regulations, businesses must ensure that:

• Email messages containing confidential information are kept
  secure when transmitted over an unprotected link
• Email
  systems and users are properly authenticated so that
  confidential information does not get into the wrong hands

• Email servers and message stores where confidential
  information may be stored are protected

Make Sure it’s Greek to Them

A comprehensive email security approach including encryption is
the most effective defense against all external and internal
threats For more information on how to encrypt information
entering and leaving your enterprise email network, download
CipherTrust’s FREE whitepaper, “Protecting Email Privacy:
Overview of IronMail Privacy Architecture”

Tags | account, application, business, couriers, critical, digital, encrypted, industrial, internet, prying, secrets, security, sensitive