Sending documents securely via email involves taking several precautions to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the information being transmitted. While email is convenient, there are risks when sending sensitive documents such as confidential business documents, personal information, financial documents, and medical records. Here are some steps you can take to ensure secure document transmission:
- Encrypt the Documents: Before attaching the documents to your email, encrypt them using encryption software or tools. This ensures that even if the email is intercepted, the contents will be unreadable without the encryption key. Plugins for Gmail and Outlook such as 689Cloud’s SecureMail will automatically encrypt documents using information rights management (IRM) to ensure that only the intended recipients can view or open them.
- Send a Link: Instead of attaching the actual file, it is often safer to upload the file to a secure server and attach a link to download the file. This will also allow sending larger files. 689Cloud’s SecureMail plugins will automatically upload and encrypt files to a secure server and protect the link with 2-factor authentication so that only the intended recipient can access the documents.
- Use Secure Email Services: Using email service providers that offer end-to-end encryption like ProtonMai and, Tutanota, or using encrypted email plugins like PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) can add an extra layer of security to your communications.
- Double Check Recipient’s Email Address: Make sure you are sending the email to the correct recipient. A simple typo in the email address can result in sending sensitive information to the wrong person.
- Use Secure Networks: Avoid sending sensitive documents over public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Use a trusted and secure internet connection to minimize the risk of interception.
- Avoid Auto-Complete Email Addresses: Disable auto-complete email address features to prevent accidentally sending emails to the wrong recipient.
- Password Protection: If your email service does not provide end-to-end encryption, consider password protecting the documents themselves. You can set a password for the document file(s) and share the password with the recipient through a separate communication channel, preferably via phone call or encrypted messaging. However, remember that password protection is not as secure as the encryption mentioned above.
- Educate Recipients: Encourage recipients to also use secure methods for accessing and storing the documents, such as encryption and secure storage solutions.
The steps above will provide differing levels of protection for your sensitive documents when sending them via email. Ultimately, the use of encryption and links is highly recommended in order to balance the ease of use of email, with the need for file security.