Secure Email Project

To get this project started, I first had to download and install Mozilla Thunderbird, which is an email client integrated in the Mozilla Suite.  I am already a user of Microsoft’s Outlook 2010, the email client combined in Microsoft Office Suite. Comparing both email clients I really have to admit that Thunderbird 3.1 is much easier to configure and also more clearer in structure than Outlook 2010. Nevertheless Outlook has much more features, e.g. a calendar.

But what are the advantages of using an email client? What I especially like about email clients is the possibility to integrate all your different email domains within one program by creating numerous accounts. Another feature, I never used so far, is that of securing emails, either by digitally signing or by encrypting emails. Unencrypted emails are like postcards that can be read by everyone who intercept it. Since privacy is getting more and more important nowadays, email encryption is of crucial matter. In the next paragraph, I will not elaborate on how to digitally sign or encrypt an email, but instead I will focus on the consequences and implications of using encryption in an enterprise.

In his paper “The strategic importance of email encryption”, the author explained risks associated with email traffic and presents ways to solve those risks. He states that encryption is increasingly recognized as the business standard for enterprise data protection, since it is the only way to protect the data itself. In today’s society, emails are a crucial business tool. Since many emails contain critical and sensitive data, data security is more and more to the fore. Not only customer specific data (e.g. bank account details), but in times of globalization and outsourcing, even firm-specific data is at risk. The author speaks not only about reputational risk, but also about regulatory pressures, operating risk associated with data breaches and costs that might arise if you fail in securing your data. The author provides suggestions about how to implement email encryption procedures. Furthermore, the author highlights additional points that are of interest, like the vendor relationship. The author concludes that IT security like email encryption is no longer just of operational importance, but of strategic. Hence, executive management is responsible for implementing security policies and procedures, and setting priorities.

Sources:

http://download.pgp.com/pdfs/Bloor-Research_Email-Encryption-Brief_071100_F.pdf

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