Business Gmail Users Are Getting An Encryption Upgrade

Google is upgrading encryption for Gmail users, making it easy to send encrypted email to any external recipient, without the need to set up encryption keys.

The feature is currently in beta and builds on the existing encryption ability that allows Gmail users to seamlessly send encrypted emails to other Gmail users. Unlike previous version of Gmail encryption to external users, the new feature does not require setting up any certificates, or using dedicated encryption tools like GPG.

Google announced the beta feature in a blog post.

Today is Gmail’s birthday, and we wanted to do something special — enable enterprise users to send E2EE messages to any user on any email inbox with just a few clicks. This capability, requiring minimal efforts for both IT teams and end users, abstracts away the traditional IT complexity and substandard user experiences of existing solutions, while preserving enhanced data sovereignty, privacy, and security controls. We’re rolling this out in a phased approach, starting today, in beta, with the ability to send E2EE emails to Gmail users in your own organization. In the coming weeks, users will be able to send E2EE emails to any Gmail inbox, and, later this year, to any email inbox. Let’s take a closer look.

Google goes on to highlight how the new feature works.

The idea here is simple. Email messages are encrypted with just a few clicks in Gmail regardless of who they are being sent to — no need for end users to exchange certificates or use custom software. The emails are protected using encryption keys controlled by the customer and not available to Google servers, providing enhanced data privacy and security. And the IT team no longer needs to go through the complex S/MIME setup or certificate management. This is how it works behind the scenes:

• When the recipient is a Gmail user (enterprise or personal), Gmail sends an E2EE email. The email is automatically decrypted in the recipient’s inbox, and the recipient can use Gmail in a familiar way.
• When the recipient is not a Gmail user, Gmail sends them an invitation to view the E2EE email in a restricted version of Gmail. The recipient can then use a guest Google Workspace account to securely view and reply to the email.

When the recipient has S/MIME configured, Gmail sends an E2EE email via S/MIME (just like it does today).

Google has also included a number of features, such as the ability for admins to turn on encrypted emails by default, the ability to classify emails by sensitivity, prevent data lost, and improved AI protections.

from WebProNews https://ift.tt/IVUalCy