When it comes to financial businesses, security is important to every stage of communication.
As email has developed over the years, these messages sent online have slowly taken over the communication that once took place within a letter or over the phone.
Quick, convenient, and reliable, switching from offline to online forms of communication has had major benefits for financial services.
However, as the finance industry is considered to be a lucrative target, it is important that companies secure each message to protect any confidential attachments and information sent within email messages.
What is email encryption software?
Email encryption works by sealing the email message and its contents with an encryption key that prevents individuals without the key from unlocking it.
The most common encryption method involves a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which uses a private key and a public key.
Private keys are used by the sender and public keys are used by the recipient. The public key can be used by anyone to create the encryption on the email, but a private key is unique and is needed by the recipient to decrypt that message.
Email encryption software is software that will create email encryption keys and protect email messages.
For encryption to work as a sufficient security measure, all emails should be encrypted and decrypted as they are sent and received.
This ensures that even the messages that do not contain sensitive data are encrypted, which avoids singling out any highly confidential emails.
READ MORE: Six Simple Cybersecurity Tips Every Finance Company Should Know
Three reasons why encrypting emails is important
Emails are vulnerable to also sorts of criminal activities, with hackers looking to infiltrate businesses in any way they can.
Email encryption should therefore be a top priority for finance companies, which use email as their primary method for data sharing.
From transferring data internally with other employees to receiving sensitive information from external customers, highly confidential data is left vulnerable to cybercriminals when transmitted across cyberspace within emails.
As the financial industry delves further into email communication, it is imperative that the data security they use covers and secures their email servers.
1: Standard email security just won't cut it
What email security does your email provider have?
Unless you have sought out a server that provides encryption specifically, it is unlikely that your email server provides sufficient protection that prevents cyberattacks on emails, even in transit.
Usually, email encryption software is part of a separate secure email server, which means businesses have to switch over to a different server entirely.
However, Sealit provides Office 365 email encryption, where users simply install an application that can be used on their pre-existing Outlook.
2: Prevent hacking and attacks from cybercriminals with email encryption
Spam mail is more dangerous than simply an unwanted email in an inbox and if handled the wrong way, spam mail can open up a whole can of worms.
From whale phishing and spear phishing, BEC attacks, to regular phishing emails, hackers are constantly waiting for human error from a singular user to give them access to company data.
Encrypted emails are harder for hackers to interfere with than messages sent without encryption.
Without email encryption locking the message and personal information or data the email might contain, hackers can extract data from messages whilst they are in transit.
This can occur within the email network.
Even if employees are vigilant within their own email accounts, hackers can still take advantage of emails once they have been sent over the internet before they reach the intended recipient.
Ransomware is another cyberattack that can have detrimental effects on businesses.
Using the same encryption technology that email encryption uses, hackers steal data from businesses and encrypt the stolen information.
Companies are then forced to pay a ransom to receive the key and decrypt the data.
However, if the information is already encrypted using email encryption, any data stolen by cybercriminals is protected from prying eyes.
3: Use email encryption to protect client data
Client confidentially is key to all businesses, but there is even more urgency when it comes to financial companies that deal with banking data as well as personal information.
Keeping in line with GDPR regulations also requires businesses to take the necessary precautions to keep their clients' sensitive information safe and protected.
Email encryption is a good way for financial organizations (who have a duty to protect their clients' data) to ensure that the data security for their emails is strong enough to prevent cyberattacks.