Who Controls Your Encryption?

Compliance   Information Security    | Last updated: April 8, 2021

Security controls how our property is used, who has access to it and what keeps it safe. But what happens to this secure sense of control when property and data goes beyond your perimeter?

Here are some points to consider when evaluating options for email data protection which won’t compromise control:

Meets compliance needs

Under international privacy rules, like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), non-compliance can lead to massive fines you can’t afford. And, while delivery methods like TLS or PGP are effective for protecting data in transit and end-to-end, they do not accommodate every situation – additional options are needed. If a TLS connection is not available, you need automatic fallbacks to other secure delivery methods, such as delivery via web portal or as an encrypted attachment – ensuring sensitive data always remains protected.

Automates processes

Encryption is a feature of any serious cybersecurity design – but real world application still lags, according to Echoworx data. When a platform is not user friendly and encrypting a message is difficult, there is a tendency for senders to favour the path of least resistance – sending sensitive data without protection.

Setting proactive encryption policies in motion not only makes encryption mandatory based on pre-set, but also improves platform usability by automating a sometimes-confusing process. Take inbound encryption policies, for example. When a customer sends an organization sensitive information, like a credit card number, over an open or unrecognized channel, there is a chance existing email filters might flag and block their message for reasons of compliance. By setting inbound encryption policies, incoming emails containing sensitive data are automatically encrypted, before being delivered to a recipient’s inbox – safe, sound and compliant.

Related: Making Customers Feel Welcome with Secure Guest Compose Email Encryption

Offers more delivery methods

From the choice of email service provider to something as simple as a device-type, there are a variety of ways recipients might inadvertently control their encryption experience. This scenario can prove detrimental to their user experience – especially if better encryption delivery methods for their situation exist. By setting proactive policies, your organization can assign specific secure delivery methods to different types of customers. You might, for example, set policies which restrict TLS to trusted partners only – or employ attachment-only encryption for secure statement delivery.

Related: The Importance of a Consistent Encryption Experience

Provides consistent experience for everyone

A consistent user experience is a keystone element of a true streamlined user experience – regardless of where, why or how a user chooses to connect. This is why access to an encrypted message experience, for example, should be consistent on any device, desktop or mobile, without the need for third-party applications.

Common business scenarios, for example, often involve engaging with a sensitive document collaboratively across multiple devices and environments. Is the document going to look and act the same offline and online? Is the user experience identical for all parties involved in any collaborative application? These are questions which need to be asked.

Related: Convert More Customers to Paperless

Recalls email when needed

The ability to recall a compromised message even after it has been read, is a simple, yet fundamental feature enabling control of an encryption experience. Whether a message is sent to an unintended recipient or whether a message is no longer safe, control over a message shouldn’t have to be relinquished just by pressing ‘Send.’

Related: New Streamlined Ways of Authenticating People Quickly Proving Their Value

Applies extensive branding automatically

For large organizations operating under multiple brands, or in different geographical regions, rich branding features are an asset. The ability to brand, separate and segment customer interactions according to brand can mean anything, from how a secure message is received to a preferred language. Different brands should also be able to be siloed to prevent eavesdropping from other business units.