End-to-end encrypted messages with S/MIME
- S/MIME (Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) is an encryption standard that encrypts email messages for maintaining complete data security between the sender and the intended recipients of the message.
- With S/MIME encrypted emails, the data contained in the emails can’t be decrypted by anyone but the intended recipient, making it very safe for transmission of sensitive data.
Avoid phishing attacks with sender identity authentication
- In phishing attacks, hackers often exploit various spoofing techniques to disguise themselves as key personnel in the organization. S/MIME encryption adds a digital signature of the sender to the encrypted email which is crucial in confirming the identity of the true sender. Phishing emails lack the digital signature and are therefore flagged as potential threat emails, significantly reducing the risk of being scammed.
- With our hands-on experience of email encryption, we’ve successfully powered secure business email solutions for some of India’s leading Banking and Financial institutions. Our understanding of how it works, and our alliances with top Certificate Issuing Authorities, enable us to provide the best S/MIME implementation platform for your business email.
Key Features
Works on Public Keys Infrastructure
S/MIME works on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Like the classic bank lockers where access requires a bank’s key and a client’s key, S/MIME requires a public key and private key for the recipient to be able to decrypt an S/MIME encrypted email. While the public key can be figured out, the private key can’t. The private key must always be in the sole possession of the recipient.
End-to-end message encryption
S/MIME uses asymmetric cryptography to encrypt the message. The encrypted message carries a digital signature of the sender, only identifiable by the intended recipient. Unlike standard email encryption where the route between two nodes is encrypted, S/MIME encrypted email can’t be read despite an interception.
Supported by leading desktop and mobile clients
Most leading clients including Apple Mail, Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird on Desktop support installation of S/MIME certificates. Popular mobile email clients that support S/MIME are iOS Mail, CipherMail and more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1.How different is S/MIME from the standard email encryption for Rediffmail for Work?
A standard email encryption such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS and even STARTTLS) encrypts the route between the two nodes. While this covers for the transmission of the email, it leaves the email as it is. In S/MIME however, the message itself is encrypted and can be decrypted and read only by the intended recipient. Brute force attacks that exploit the limitations of SSL or TLS may break into a secure connection to intercept an email, but it’ll still be impossible to read an S/MIME encrypted message.
2. Do I need to buy additional certificates to enable S/MIME?
S/MIME requires the sender and the recipient, both to have valid S/MIME certificates. These can be issued from a recognized issuing authority and must be installed in the mail clients of the users. The cost of the certificates may vary based on the class of certificate to be procured.
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