How to encrypt email for safer delivery
Office 365 Message Encryption lets you send encrypted email to people inside or outside Inhabit IQ, regardless of the destination email address (Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook.com, etc.). Recipients don't need an Office 365 subscription to view encrypted messages or send encrypted replies.
When should I encrypt email?
Encrypt email when sending sensitive business or personal information and attachments to prevent unauthorized access to the sensitive data.
For example:
- Human Resources staff sending an employee list to a benefits provider
- A billing representative sending confidential billing information to a customer
- An employee sending a medical claims form to an insurance company
How do I encrypt email?
When composing a new message (and before sending):
In the Outlook browser (office.com), select the ellipsis ("...") next to Send, Attach and Discard, then select "Encrypt".
In the Outlook desktop client, select "File, Set Permissions" and select "Encrypt." (Some versions may have this located under Options, Encrypt”)
There are two options to use for encrypting email:
1. The "Do Not Forward" option encrypts the email and all attachments, and prevents the recipient from forwarding the email to anyone else.
2. The "Encrypt Only" encrypts the email and all attachments, and allows the user to copy from the email, print it, and forward it.
Use Do Not Forward when it's important that only the recipients that the sender chooses should see the information in the email.
How do I read an encrypted email?
O365 users will just open the email normally. Recipients with Gmail or other non-O365 email addresses will be directed to an Outlook web page and can either get a one-time passcode, sign in with a Microsoft account, or sign in with a work or school account associated with Office 365.
How do I set encryption as default?
(not recommended unless using a separate email account for sensitive data sent regularly to external users):
If there is a business need, you can set the Outlook client to always send encrypted email by selecting "File, Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Email Security," and checking the box next to "Encrypt contents and attachments for outgoing message." This will be applied for every outgoing email.
MAC Outlook Clients
When using a MAC Outlook client, open a new email and select “Options” and then select “Encrypt” to see options.
Unsupported Clients
Encryption is not supported via mail clients outside of Outlook for MacOS and Windows. Use of POP3 or IMAP is strongly discouraged and requires business justification in order to continue to use them.