What encrypted emails are and how to send them

Emails have evolved from their simple beginnings to become our go-to for everything from sending quick updates to sharing confidential and official documents, whether on our smartphones, laptops, or desktops. But with this convenience comes a big question: how do we keep our sensitive information safe when emailing someone? While email providers like Google and Microsoft offer some level of security to protect against unauthorised access, sometimes its just not enough.

That’s where encryption comes in. Encryption scrambles your information, making it unreadable without a special key. But what exactly is an encrypted email, and how can you send one? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a quick guide on what encrypted emails are and how to send them.

What are encrypted emails?

The idea behind encrypted emails is to protect your messages from being intercepted and exposed. Regular emails are vulnerable to interception, but encryption makes your message unreadable to any and everyone who doesn’t have a private key, so only the person you send it to can see it. There are two main types of encryption: Transport Layer Security (TLS), which most providers use to protect emails as they travel between servers, and end-to-end encryption, which is even stronger because it needs a unique key for each recipient. This means only the intended person can read the email.

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Email encryption is super important for keeping sensitive info like financial data or confidential communications safe, relying on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which uses a pair of keys: a private key and a public key. Senders use the public key to encrypt emails, and recipients use the private key to decrypt them into a readable format. So, anyone can use a public key to encrypt an email, but only a unique private key can decrypt it. If you’re now thinking about encrypting your emails, here’s how you can do it.

How to send encrypted emails

For sending encrypted emails, you will first need to decide whether you want to go for an end-to-end encrypted email service or set up encryption on your current mail service. If you want to set up encryption on your current mail service, here’s how to encrypt your emails in Gmail or Outlook.

How to encrypt an email on Gmail

To encrypt emails in Gmail, first, you’ll need to turn on S/MIME. It’s a built-in feature that uses digital certificates to secure your messages. However, just make sure both you and the person you’re emailing have it turned on. Simply follow Google’s detailed instructions to enable hosted S/MIME, and after that, all you need to do is:

1. Start by clicking on compose and writing your mail as usual. 

2. Look for the lock icon next to the recipient’s email address.

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3. Click on ‘view details’ to adjust S/MIME settings or encryption level. Here, when you see a green indicator, it means your email is protected by S/MIME encryption, ensuring only the recipient with the private key can decrypt it. On the other hand, a red indicator represents the email lacks encryption, while the grey indicator indicates TLS encryption, securing email transmission between servers, provided both parties support TLS.

How to encrypt emails on Outlook

Even Outlook supports S/MIME encryption and you can enable it by obtaining a certificate or digital ID from your organisation’s administrator. Then, simply follow Microsoft Office’s instructions for setting up S/MIME encryption. Once the S/MIME encryption is set up, then all you need to do is encrypt all messages by accessing the gear menu and selecting S/MIME settings.

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You can also choose to encrypt message contents and attachments or add a digital signature to all your sent messages. For individual messages, use the three dots icon at the top, select ‘Message options,’ and toggle “Encrypt this message (S/MIME)” based on whether the recipient has S/MIME enabled.

By taking these simple steps, you can ensure safe and secure email communications every day, whether with your colleagues, friends, or family.