Resource Partners adds E-mail Encryption
E-mail has done so much to streamline and simplify communications. No more standing by the receptionist’s desk on a Friday afternoon, anxiously waiting for that 25 page contract to unspool from the fax machine so you can review the details, obtain the appropriate signatures, return the contract and close the deal (pending receipt of the originals via US Mail of course!). In most organizations, e-mail has become the main tool for communications with customers, and sometimes, even for communications with fellow employees. But it is often misunderstood just how easy it is for your e-mail to be read by outsiders. Some experts caution that it is as easily read by outsiders as a postcard.
So what makes it so easy for an outsider to seize your information? E-mails do not simply move from computer-to-computer. Your e-mail will may pass through several different servers, proxy servers, e-mail servers and communication programs (think Outlook, G-mail, Apple Mail) before reaching its destination. Complicating matters, your e-mail is transmitted in plain text across the Internet and local networks and generally not protected by protocols such as SSL/TSL. You cannot be sure that a third party does not see the message content while it travels from sender to receiver. This creates obvious problems when sending sensitive information.
In response, Resource Partners recently added encryption to its arsenal of data protection tools. E-mail encryption software products are used to protect the confidentiality and integrity of messages and attachments in-transit.
Here is how it works:
· Resource Partners will encrypt e-mails containing sensitive or personally identifiable information
· The recipient receives a message stating that they have received an encrypted e-mail from an associate at Resource Partners (see below for sample)
· Clicking on “View Encrypted E-mail” takes the recipient to a secure web portal where after a quick one-time registration, the recipient can view and respond. When responding from within the secure web portal, the return message is also encrypted.
Please note, this service will only protect e-mail originating from Resource Partners and your response via our secure web portal. To ensure e-mails originating from your office are secure, it is important to invest in some type of web based or secure e-mail hosting service in your office.
E-mail encryption is just one of many tools utilized by Resource Partners to keep your confidential information secure. These tools include firewalls with regularly updated security subscriptions; intrusion detection/prevention; content, e-mail spam and virus filtering; and other types of anti-virus protection/monitoring. Protection of sensitive data is everyone’s responsibility and one that we at Resource Partners strive to continually monitor and adjust.