Emails are critical to all of us. Be it for personal or professional reasons, we rely on email to send sensitive information, confidential documents, and important messages. However, this convenience comes with its own risks, as emails can be intercepted, accessed, or hacked. To counteract these threats, understanding how to send encrypted emails is crucial.
In this article, our focus is on covering the basics of encryption and sending encrypted emails via one of the most popular email clients – Gmail.
Email encryption is a mechanism that converts the content of your email into unreadable text, making it accessible only to the intended recipient. This process ensures that even if someone intercepts your email, they cannot decipher its contents without the decryption key.
Essentially, it creates a secure envelope around your message, safeguarding it from prying eyes.
Emails often contain sensitive information such as personal details, financial data, or confidential business strategies. Without proper security measures, this information can be exposed.
Insecure emails lead to identity theft, data breaches, or privacy violations. Email encryption provides a shield against these threats, ensuring that your messages remain confidential and protected.
Yes, Gmail employs security measures to protect your emails. However, understanding the different layers of security is essential to grasp the full extent of protection Gmail offers.
Gmail uses a standard encryption method called Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure emails in transit between Google's servers and your device. This encryption ensures that your messages are safe from eavesdropping during transmission.
However, it's essential to note that once the email reaches its destination, the level of security depends on the recipient's email provider. If the recipient's email service doesn't support TLS encryption, there's a potential vulnerability.
But if you want to be sure your email is delivered safely over the internet, opt for an email security tool like RMail. Its advanced technology detects the recipients' security layer and chooses the correct encryption method. If the recipient doesn't have a TLS layer, RMail delivers the mail bound in a 265-bit password-protected envelope so only the receiver can access it with a secret code.
For the utmost security and privacy, Gmail offers end-to-end encryption through its "Confidential Mode."
While this feature gives the ability to delete the data or information, it still can be intercepted when it's alive on the web or in transit or even more sophisticatedly being eavesdropped on.
RMail turns your email into an ultra-protected packet of the message and keeps it away from targeted cybercrimes like BEC (Business Email Compromise) or eavesdropping attacks. It also provides insights and court-admissible proof of record that depicts encryption, delivery, and viewing.
Gmail's encryption methods, including TLS and Confidential Mode, provide robust security. However, no system is entirely immune to vulnerabilities, so it's essential to stay vigilant and employ best practices for email security.
While you can use Confidential Mode for most emails, some restrictions apply. You cannot use it for emails sent through POP or IMAP email clients, and recipients must have a Gmail or Google Workspace account to open emails sent in Confidential Mode.
If you forget the passcode, you can click on the "Forgot passcode" link in the email. Google will then send a new passcode to the recipient's email address.
