Why is Secure Email no better than Regular Email?
Posted by Knowledge Guy in Legal Issues, tags: Backups, Ciphers, Cryptographers, Data Breach, E Mail, Email Addresses, Email Service, Enhancements, Extra Copies, Hipaa Compliance, Local System, Local Systems, Mail Software, Matter Of Time, Messaging System, Personal Computers, Private Info, Redundancy, Secure Mail, Secure Message, Secure Messaging, Secure Server, Service Organization, Word SecureIt is often thought that “Secure Email” addresses the proven fact that regular e-mail is sent in CLEAR TEXT by encrypting the communication on the sender’s end, then decrypting it from the inbox without delay on the recipient’s local system. It doesn’t , however , even in the case of having an internet-based secure email portal, such as Gmail, address the proven fact that multiple copies are stored all across the web in the form of backups in “the cloud”, as well as on the local systems of the sender and recipients.
How Secure is Information on a Robbed Computer?
Encrypted, private info will only stay encrypted for a matter of time when a laptop that it lives on is separated from its owner. Cryptographers claim their ciphers will take decades to crack, only to be proved wrong weeks or months later on. Regardless, under HIPAA laws, individuals who’ve had their data stolen in a data breach must be notified, and any information breach having an effect on more than 500 people has to be made public. This is true whether or not the information of the affected people was encoded.
Additionally, there is not any control of where the info goes with “Secure Email” just as with regular email. Encrypting it only solves part of the problem. It doesn't address the difficulties regarding the redundancy of the information stored across the internet as well as on local personal computers. The truth is, the most secure email service organization you’ll be able to find providing enhancements to your mail software to encrypt and decrypt messages isn’t going to guard your information as well as a secure messaging system. This is due to the fact that secure messages are stored centrally, on a secure server whereas Email can be copied, stored, backed up, and forwarded many times. And what happens to these extra copies of everyone’s email? Your guess is as good as mine.
Secure Messaging is better than Secure Email
Why is secure messaging better than e-mail? This is simply a matter of numbers. The more frequently an Email is copied, sent, or stored, the greater chance there is that the message will be intercepted. This explains why Secure Messaging is the most preferred method of sending and receiving encrypted communications that have to be protected for people and firms who often send secure info.
Jonathan S. Lybrook is Managing Partner of WordSecure, LLC in Boulder, Colorado. Their main product, Word Secure Messaging is a Software as a Service (SaaS) providing schools, hospice centers, medical clinics, non-profits, and corporations throughout the US with email security alternatives for sending Protected Health Information (PHI) allowing them to demonstrate HIPAA and HITECH Email compliance.