Email encryption
Email Encryption
Email encryption (pronounced: e-mail en-krip-shun) is a method of securing email communication to ensure that only the intended recipient can read the message. It involves encoding the content of an email in such a way that only authorized parties can decode and read it.
Etymology
The term "Email encryption" is a combination of "Email", an abbreviation for "electronic mail", and "encryption", which comes from the Greek word "kryptos", meaning hidden or secret.
Related Terms
- Cryptography: The practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties.
- Public key infrastructure (PKI): A set of roles, policies, hardware, software and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption.
- Digital signature: A mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents.
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): A standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client.
- Transport Layer Security (TLS): An updated, more secure, version of SSL.
- Pretty Good Privacy (PGP): An encryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication.
Process
Email encryption involves the use of cryptographic algorithms to scramble the contents of an email. The process typically involves the following steps:
- The sender composes an email.
- The email encryption software or service automatically encrypts the content of the email.
- The encrypted email is sent over the internet.
- The recipient uses a key provided by the sender to decrypt the email and read its contents.
Email encryption can be done in two ways: end-to-end encryption and transport layer encryption. In end-to-end encryption, the email is encrypted on the sender's system and only decrypted on the recipient's system. In transport layer encryption, the email is encrypted on the sender's system, decrypted at the email server, and then re-encrypted before being sent to the recipient.
Importance
Email encryption is important for protecting sensitive information from being read by unauthorized individuals. It is commonly used in business and government communications to protect sensitive data, such as financial information, personal data, and classified information.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Email encryption
- Wikipedia's article - Email encryption
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