Office 365 allows you to protect against data breaches and malicious attacks by encrypting emails through its built-in security features. Email encryption is a way of protecting your confidential messages from unauthorized access, ensuring that only the intended recipient can read them. In Office 365, email encryption is enabled by default, making it simple and convenient for users to keep their emails secure.
Here’s a breakdown of how email encryption works in Office 365:
Encrypting Email Messages
Encrypted emails are digitally signed, meaning that the sender’s identity is verified so that only they can read or send messages. This process is done using public-key cryptography, which requires two keys — a public key and a private key — to convert the message into a secure format. The public key is used for encrypting messages, while the private key is used for decrypting them.
Office 365 also utilizes Transport Layer Security (TLS) to protect emails in transit from being intercepted by third parties. TLS works by establishing an encrypted connection between two systems that only allow verified messages to be transmitted.
Decrypting Email Messages
Office 365 also makes it easy to decrypt messages, granting access to the message’s contents after a user authenticates their identity with either Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Smart/Secure Password Authentication (SSPA). Once decrypted, the email is scanned for malicious content and attachments are scanned for viruses.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Office 365 also offers a feature called Data Loss Prevention (DLP), which helps you protect sensitive information from being sent to unauthorized recipients. DLP works by scanning the content of emails and flagging any messages that contain potentially sensitive data, such as financial or personal information. You can then customize the DLP policy to enforce different levels of protection, tailored to your organization’s needs.
By taking advantage of Office 365’s built-in security features, organizations can ensure that their emails remain secure and confidential. From encrypting messages to scanning for malicious content, Office 365 offers an array of options for keeping your data safe and secure.