Sending Sensitive Data by Email? Lock Down Your Info with GTS EncryptGuard

How many times have you shared login info by email? We all know not to do it, but when the workday gets away from us, we’ll do just about anything to save a few minutes’ time.

On the other hand, some of us take the time to encrypt our emails without realizing that encryption isn’t supported on the other end of the data transfer. Many encryption services fall short, allowing sensitive data to transmit without protection when there is a compatibility error.

Business owners, get excited: there’s a new way to send sensitive data by email without sacrificing security.

GTS EncryptGuard ensures your sensitive emails never go unencrypted.

What is email encryption, and why do I need it?

Email is one of the most vulnerable services in business. A hacker who gains access to your email account can view attachments, read sensitive information, or even pretend to be you and scam money out of your clients or employees.

Encryption—the process of disguising the contents of sensitive data—can be used to keep the content of your emails from being read by anyone but the intended recipient. The goal here is to make the messages unreadable, so that even if an email does get snagged by a ne’er-do-well, he can’t read the content.

• Email encryption is typically available through five platforms:
  • TLS (Transport Layer Security) encrypts data communication between web applications and servers. It’s helpful to protect businesses from data breaches, but it requires both ends of the data transfer to have the right protocols in place. If one end of the data transfer doesn’t support TLS, the data is sent unprotected, or not sent at all.
  • PGP or Pretty Good Privacy encryption uses cryptography and user authentication to protect texts, emails, and other files. It’s designed to make it obvious when someone has tampered with data, so that you know not to open a sketchy attachment even if it seems like it came from somewhere safe.
  • S/MIME or Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions also use cryptography to encrypt emails. S/MIME allows the sender to add a digital signature to their emails, so that the recipient knows the email came from a trusted source.
  • Encrypted attachments work much like email encryption, but specifically for documents sent as attachments. Depending on the document you’re sending, you can require a password or key to open the attachment.
  • Secure PDF is the most popular type of encrypted attachment. Sensitive data can be compressed and scrambled in a secure PDF, and unscrambled on the other end of the data transfer.

How is GTS EncryptGuard different from other services?

Most modern email encryption services use TLS or Secure PDF. These are good options, but they hit a wall if the intended recipient doesn’t have the right email protocols in place. If you’re sending an email using TLS encryption, but the recipient’s email client can’t open TLS emails, one of two things will happen: the email won’t be sent at all, or worse, it will send without any encryption whatsoever.

GTS EncryptGuard ensures your emails never go unencrypted by providing encryption services through all six platforms. If your email comes up against a compatibility error, we can change encryption methods to make sure your email reaches the intended recipient safely, no matter what.

My business doesn’t handle sensitive information. Do I still need to encrypt my emails?

Just because you’re not emailing social security numbers and bank account information doesn’t mean you shouldn’t encrypt your emails.

Unencrypted emails are easy targets for malware attacks.

Imagine you’re sending a PDF attachment to a client. It’s possible for someone to intercept that email and make a few changes to the attachment in your email, dropping in code to install a keylogger or other malicious software. Your client receives the email, and trusting the attachment—it came from you, after all!—he opens it. Suddenly, your network is dealing with a widespread malware attack.

The same scenario holds true for businesses that handle sensitive information, such as social security numbers, legal information, or sensitive payroll information —the carnage can just be much worse if someone gains access to your email network.

Okay, I’m sold! How do I get started?

Give us a call at (904) 606-6011 or email info@helpgts.com to learn more about GTS EncryptGuard and our entire suite of business protection services. We’re here to help!