Email plays a vital part in how you do business, from communicating with new and existing customers through email marketing to providing the highest standard of customer care. Whatever you use email for within your business, just one corporate email account can provide invaluable information about your company and its customers. Information which in the wrong hands could do considerable damage to your business and its reputation.
At first glance the content of business emails may not look particularly prized. But with most businesses using email to share photographs, contracts, invoices, tax forms and reset passwords, your email can provide a gateway to sensitive data. Your business email may also be connected to other digital accounts, including bank accounts, social networks, cloud services and online stores. With the number of email users set to hit 3 billion next year, email hacking is becoming more common than ever. There are many routes to explore to protect your business email accounts and the data they hold, email encryption being one of them.
Here we take a closer look at email encryption, including its definition, the benefits it unlocks and why it’s an important tool for your business.
What exactly is email encryption?
Email encryption is a method used to hide an email’s content from unauthorised viewers or recipients. Upon sending, the emails are encrypted into an unreadable format. It is only on receipt that the emails are decrypted and become readable again to the authorised recipient. If an unauthorised recipient, such as a cybercriminal or hacker, tries to intercept these emails during transit, the emails will display in an unreadable form to keep the content within completely private.
Email encryption doesn’t just encrypt the email message you’re sending. Most tools encrypt the connection from your email provider as well as any email messages that have been stored, cached or archived in your account.
Why should I use email encryption?
There are many reasons why email encryption is a handy tool for businesses of all sizes to utilise. In addition to protecting all the information sent via email from your business, email encryption provides automated protection that saves you time and money. With the right email encryption practices you don’t have to worry about purchasing and installing additional software to protect your business email accounts. The swift and automated encryption process also means no time at all has to be spent securing email messages and attachments.
Email encryption protects your business and its reputation within its target market. With email encryption, your email accounts can’t be used by cyber-criminals to send spam to your contacts. Spam emails sent in your business’ name and attached to your digital signature can not only make you look unprofessional but show how vulnerable your business email server really is.
Don’t put any doubts about data protection and security in the minds of your customers! Find the most effective email encryption method for you with a little help from our team. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.