How Secure is Email?
12.28.09
How secure is email as a means of communication? We’ve noticed over the last few months that this is a question we should all be asking a lot more often. As we continue to rely on email for personal and business communication, we need to be aware of the dangers of doing so.
Lack of Security Due to Email Routing
Like snail mail, email travels through various different checkpoints between sender and recipient. Unlike snail mail, however, email messages aren’t protected by sealed envelopes. In other words, each server that routes your email message could theoretically give a third party access to the content of your message, provided that that third party has the know-how and the intent to compromise your email. That’s not to say that Big Brother is reading all of your emails; it’s just that your messages aren't completely safe from outside eyes.
Email Security: Best Practices
So what kind of policies should we have when it comes to deciding what kind of information is appropriate to send via email? Well, any sensitive information that could give someone access to your finances, credit cards, important passwords, or other sensitive data should never be sent in an email message. You may know and trust someone well enough to send this information to them, but you don’t know all the people in the middle who may have access to your message between the time it leaves your outbox and finds its way to a recipient’s inbox. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about email security and how to guard your sensitive information.