How to Enable Office 365 Email Encryption?

Privacy is a non-negotiable aspect of business email solutions. One of the best ways to enforce privacy is by encrypting it. One way of encrypting email messages is to change the readable plain text to scrambled ciphertext. This way, only the intended recipient can comprehend the message by using a private key that is an exact match of the public key that is used to encrypt the email message. Without the private key, the message will be incomprehensible to a recipient who may have intercepted the message or have accidentally received it. If you are sending confidential information, here’s what you need to know about how to encrypt email in Office 365.

How Does Office 365 Email Encryption Help?

Office 365 Message Encryption is built on Azure Information Protection capabilities to facilitate the sharing of protected emails within and outside organizations. Below are some notable features of the Office 365 email encryption setup.

• It includes Do Not Forward and customizable Rights Management Services templates that can be used for B2B and B2C emails.
• Encrypted email messages can be sent from Office 365 mailboxes to other users regardless of the email service provider.
• Encryption is automated without additional expensive infrastructure.
• The recipient’s email address can be used as the public key, thus eliminating the need for additional certificates.
• Each message in a thread can be encrypted for enhanced security.
• Any device that can run Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, or the web version can be used to send encrypted emails.
• Intermediate web services or client software are not required as encrypted emails are delivered directly to recipient mailboxes.
• Users retain significant control of the encryption process with the ability to apply their own encryption keys, use rights management templates, and configure transport rules in Exchange for protecting sensitive data.
• Policies can be framed to encrypt messages and prevent them from leaking from gateways.

How To Send Encrypted Email Using Office 365?

With the Information Rights Management (IRM) feature, Microsoft 365 subscribers can encrypt their emails in different ways.

Using Microsoft 365 Message Encryption for Individual Messages

For Microsoft 365 users that have the feature, the Encrypt option will be visible for the message in the Options menu. Here’s how it can be enabled.

• Click on Options>Encrypt, and select the rule to be applied in the Set permission on this item dropdown. This can also be found under Options>Permissions in Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016.
• For Outlook on the web users, the Encrypt option appears above the message. Users can manage permissions by selecting from the Change permissions option once encryption has been enforced. Alternatively, it can be accessed from the bottom of the message by clicking on … >Encrypt.

Encrypting All Outgoing Messages

Follow the steps below in Outlook to encrypt all outgoing messages. Note that recipients will need the sender’s digital ID to decrypt the messages.

• Click on the File tab and navigate to the Trust Center Settings from the Options menu.
• Enable the Encrypt contents and attachments for outgoing messages check box under Encrypted email in the Email Security tab.
• You can add certificates from the additional settings.

Apps4Rent Assistance for Office 365 Migration

While Exchange Online messages are protected by Transport Layer Security TLS) and HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protocols, they are not encrypted by default. The Office 365 Message Encryption feature is available only with Office 365 E3 subscriptions and above. To take full advantage of these capabilities, advanced configurations have to be made using Azure Information Protection through Exchange admin center (EAC) or Exchange Online PowerShell. These often require technical expertise. As a Tier 1 Microsoft CSP, Apps4Rent helps businesses adopt the right Microsoft cloud solutions and configure them to suit their unique requirements. Our Office 365 experts provide 24/7/365 phone, chat, and email support. Contact us today for Office 365 migration assistance.