{"id":1488,"date":"2020-04-01T06:46:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T06:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2020-04-09T15:49:51","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T15:49:51","slug":"email-encryption-certificate-for-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sectigostore.com\/page\/email-encryption-certificate-for-outlook\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Really Need an Email Encryption Certificate for Outlook?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you care about the security of your email communication,\nthen yes, you need an email encryption\ncertificate<\/a>, or what\u2019s also known as an email signing certificate or S\/MIME\ncertificate! This is not the same thing as an email server certificate, which\nencrypts the email server itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re using emails for professional purposes or sending\nand receiving any sensitive information\u2014 which is too dangerous if it were to get\nleaked\u2014 an email encryption certificate is a must for your Outlook (or for any\nother email client). But if you are using emails just to share cute cat videos\nand your grandma\u2019s pie recipe, you don\u2019t necessarily need any encryption\ncertificate! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover the main components and benefits\nof an email encryption certificate and how it is implemented to sign the\noutgoing emails digitally on the Outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is an Email\nEncryption Certificate Necessary for Outlook?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Outlook is an email application that\u2019s available as a part of\nthe Microsoft Office suite. Although it\u2019s available for both individuals and\nprofessionals, it\u2019s more popular among businesses for internal and external\ncommunication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email communication is always an insecure component of an organization\u2019s overall security posture. In 2019, the Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a> (IC3) received 23,775 BEC complaints, and the organizations lost over $1.7 billion. It shows that the need for email security is an essential requirement for any business these days. An email encryption certificate, also known as an email signing certificate or S\/MIME certificate, is a robust email security tool that\u2019s easy to deploy on Outlook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main Security\nComponents of an Email Encryption Certificate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are the three main security pillars of an email\nencryption certificate: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Identity Assurance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An email encryption certificate allows you as the sender to insert a cryptographic digital signature on all outgoing emails. This digital signature can’t be modified, deleted, or manipulated by any other person. This gives your recipients assurance about your identity and helps them trust that the message came from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Privacy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An email encryption certificate encrypts the email content before you hit send and provides both in-transit and at-rest data protection. Encryption means scrambling the plain text data using a mathematical algorithm to make it incomprehensible. This means that no one can eavesdrop, read, interpret, or steal the content while the email is in transit and while it sits on the intended recipient’s server, waiting to be decrypted.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Integrity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>An email encryption certificate uses principles of the public key infrastructure (PKI) and hashes the entire content of the email, attachments, and the digital signature. An intact hash value is proof of the integrity of the email. This means that if anyone tries to tamper with the email after it\u2019s been sent, the hash value changes, which informs the recipients that the email\u2019s integrity has been compromised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Benefits of Using an Email Encryption Certificate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are the main benefits of an email encryption certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n