Are Emails Secure?

Are Emails Secure?

We send approximately 306 billion emails every day worldwide, personal and professional. Still, it’s not secure. Any private data or sensitive documents sent are at risk.

Sending an email is convenient and fast, but when it comes to private data, you’re better off choosing another method of delivery, one that doesn’t have as many potential points of access for an ill-intentioned actor.

Think about the path an email travels:

• First, you write it on your PC, laptop, phone,….. This stores the information in your email program. A hacker who has accessed your device using malware could read it.
• The email then goes out to your email server. If that server is hacked, your data is at risk.
• Your message then travels through online networks to reach your recipient, but there’s no guarantee those networks are secure.
• The email then hits the recipient’s email server, then their email program, and then their device. But the same risks that arose at your end are replicated on their side of the exchange, too.

Basically, when you send an email you lose control of the security of that communication, and potential problems abound:

• Hackers could be intercepting and reading your email.
• You can’t be certain that your recipient’s server or storage is encrypted at all times.
• A bad actor could impersonate a server to intercept messages, and you wouldn’t know any better.
• Your recipients may save that email in their mailbox for months or even years. 
• Recipients can accidentally forward that email on to unexpected parties.
• You can’t assign permissions or password protect that email.

The Solution to Email Insecurity

Stop sending sensitive information via email. Instead, select a method that allows you to check and control who has access to that data. This could mean uploading the information to a private portal or sending using an encrypted file-sharing service such as Google Drive or Dropbox. 

If the recipient needs a username and password, send the two credentials separately. You might text them the password, mail it, or call and give it to the individual directly. When using a system that sends a password email to the user, contact that individual directly. Ensure that they receive the email, log in, and change the password to something else.

A virtual private network (VPN) is another good tool for securing email. 

Sending information online is a tricky business. Don’t put your sensitive information at risk by relying on email communications. Instead, use the solutions above to protect your private and proprietary data.

Abuzz Technologies can set up the solutions you need. Call or Text now, 215.600.0349, support@abuzztech.com. 744 South Street #124, Philadelphia, PA 19147.