What does Email Encryption Mean and How Does It Work?
When an email is encrypted it means it has an extra layer of security on it. The recipient will either be in the FlowCrypt system or the email will be password protected. This will avoid anyone intercepting the email and accessing the information.
There are multiple ways of encrytping emails, and multiple companies. One is FlowCrypt. I'm recommending that we load the basic version of FlowCrypt on all our PC's for Gmail encryption.
Overview:
- FlowCrypt operates only on Gmail and is a Chrome Plugin.
- This means it's easy to install and remove should we need to remove it.
- It can be stalled in seconds and the base version that I'd like everyone to load on their PC's is free.
- FlowCrypt can be used or not used based upon your needs for the specific email.
- You do not have to encrypt all your emails. You can encrypt just the emails with personal client or company information.
- When composing an email you pick Secure or regular. If you pick secure we'll walk through the next steps. If you pick regular there will be no change in your email process.
What does an encrypted email look like:
Here is a screen shot. The recipient in green is set up with FlowCrypt. The recipient in grey is not. If you send to someone that is not set up then the email will need to be password protected. You would add the password protection and you would have to let the recipient know what the password is outside of the email.
What does the email recipient's email look like that they receive?
The recipient's email will look like this above. They will click Open Message and the system will ask for their password to the email. With the password the email will open and
The recipient will put in the password and the email will open like this below:
Additional Details:
Without having the FlowCrypt chrome plug in downloaded on their PC the client will be unable to respond to the email. The documents or data will be secure and they will be unable to forward it as is or reply to the email.
Extra Options From FlowCrypt:
Summary:
For now I think the basic version will benefit us and allow us to encrypt outbound email. If you need to encrypt inbound email I may set up a generic email that we can all use for accepting borrower documents through an encrypted email address.