Need to email sensitive information? Send your email securely with email encryption.
Why should I encrypt an email?
Microsoft’s email encryption capabilities allow us to share sensitive information with people within or outside of the University.
Microsoft clearly states the need for encryption on their website:
“People often use email to exchange sensitive information, such as financial data, legal contracts, confidential product information, sales reports and projections, patient health information, or customer and employee information. As a result, mailboxes can become repositories for large amounts of potentially sensitive information and information leakage can become a serious threat to your organization."
How do I encrypt and securely send an email that contains sensitive information?
To encrypt the email, type (encrypt) in the subject line of the email. The placement of the text (encrypt) in the subject line is not relevant - it can be at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end.
If your email subject is Transfer Student Data, the email subject might look like this:
How can an external (non-Tarleton) recipient open the encrypted email message?
The external email recipient will receive a message appearing similar to the image below
After selecting Read the Message, the recipient is then given two options.
- Sign in to their existing email provider using their username and password
- Sign in with a One-time passcode
If the recipient selects Sign in with a One-time passcode, the screen below will be displayed.
The recipient should follow the instructions to check email for the one-time passcode. The email will have subject "Your one-time passcode to view the message" and it will look like this (with a unique code)
The passcode expires 15 minutes after it was requested. After entering the One-time passcode, the encrypted email is displayed.
Can recipients reply to encrypted emails?
Email recipients can reply to encrypted emails. The reply emails will be encrypted.
Can recipients forward, print or copy encrypted emails?
No, recipients cannot forward, print or copy encrypted emails.
Are attachments encrypted?
Yes, any attachments within the encrypted email are also encrypted.
Will the recipient’s encrypted email message expire?
Yes, encrypted email messages expire in 14 days.