Office 365 Message Encryption with Azure Rights Management

Today security is everyone’s responsibility. If you are a business owner, you need to ensure that all your communication channels are secure. Encryption is a way to improve the security and reliability of your business emails.

You can think of encryption as scrambling of data. It allows only the sender and receiver of the emails to see the information. If third-parties like hackers intercept the data, it’s useless to them. Most managed services today provide some form of encryption capability.

Office Message Encryption (OME) is a service built on Azure Rights Management (RMS). With this managed service, all your emails to any destination will be encrypted to protect your data.

Why You Should Encrypt Your Emails

Let’s take the example of postcards and enveloped mails. If you send a postcard through the mailing service, every post office worker who handles the mail can read your message. But if you seal the message inside an envelope, only the recipient can see it.

You can think of encryption as a similar phenomenon. When your email messages are not encrypted, anyone in the network can use a tool and see what messages are going back and forth. If you encrypt it, it is like sending information in a sealed envelope. Only the recipient can read the message.

If your email is not encrypted, any communication you have with your customers or your employees through emails can be monitored by third-parties. Imagine hackers being able to steal customer credit card or employee social security numbers. If you don’t have encryption enabled, it’s easy to collect such information.

Using Azure RMS for Office 365 Message Encryption

You can hire an IT professional and implement your own encryption mechanism. But that’s time-consuming, expensive and difficult to maintain. Luckily if you are using a managed service like Office 365, you can get encryption capabilities for a subscription.

Microsoft lets you administer the Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) through the Azure RMS. OME encrypted messages are compatible with Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail. Recipients can view the encrypted messages in multiple ways. They can get a one-time passcode that will be able to decrypt the message. Or they can use a Microsoft account or Office 365 associated account. It’s not necessary for the recipients to have an Office 365 subscription to be able to receive and send encrypted messages.

Encryption can be useful in multiple situations. If you are dealing with credit card information, medical records or legal papers, encryption will help keep sensitive business information safe. In some cases, you might be required to use encryption for security, compliance and regulatory requirements. For example, businesses that use credit cards have to comply to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) or businesses that deal with medical data have to comply to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

In order to use OME capabilities, you will need an Office 365 subscription that includes Azure Rights Management or Azure Information Protection as well as Exchange Online or Exchange Online Protection (EOP). If you have the subscription, you should be able to access the Azure Information Protection from the Azure portal dashboard and set up the necessary policies.

In summary, Office 365 Message Encryption is an easy-to-use managed service that improves the security of your business. It will protect you from cybercriminals and hackers. Keeping the data of your customers and employees safe is crucial to the reputation of your business.

Are you looking for experts who can help you secure your infrastructure? At Cleartech Group, we have built a reputation for providing premium technology support. As a Microsoft Partner, we can help you with your Office 365 installation, repair and management. Contact us today at (978) 466-1938 or reach out online. Our experts are ready to help you.