Do you remember when we were still amazed by the progress of email? It felt like a digital revolution—a new way to send thoughts and information around the world with just a few keystrokes. But like any technological leap forward, this innovation also brought risks. As we quickly sent emails back and forth, shortcuts opened up for digital thieves and opportunists. For organizations that processed a lot of confidential data, it became crucial to protect themselves against digital threats, and so secure email was born. In this blog, you can read all about the evolution of Secure Email 3.0: from awareness to security by default.
Generation 1: the digital ‘registered letter’
The first solutions came onto the market in 2010. This first generation of solutions works by encrypting messages or attachments individually outside the normal email environment. Senders and recipients have to follow extra steps to send and open the message securely. Examples of these early European solutions include ZorgMail, CryptShare, and AttachtingIT (the predecessor of SmartLockr). American names include Proofpoint and FileCap.
Experience has shown that these solutions are considered quite cumbersome due to the extra steps involved. Nevertheless, they remain a secure option to this day. You can use them when necessary, and as a user, you can choose per message or file whether to send it via the secure route.
Compare the first generation to sending a registered letter, but digitally.
Generation 2: awareness as a user-friendly solution
Innovation did not stand still, because after the first version, more user-friendly solutions were developed. Secure mail 2.0 focuses on user support and decision assistance. Private cloud environments help senders with rules and warnings. This reduces errors and data leaks, because before sending, the sender receives a notification that the email may contain sensitive information. The sender can then choose to send the email securely. This generation relies on awareness.
Solutions such as Zorgmail from Enovation, Zivver, SmartLockr, and Bastion 365 are examples of this second generation. They are considerably more user-friendly than the first generation, but opening emails remains difficult for the recipient. At least 40% of emails sent are not opened by the recipient. With every email, the recipient must verify themselves and can only read it on a platform outside their own email environment. This can be too much hassle for the recipient or even too complicated.
In addition, people make mistakes. We tend to take the path of least resistance. And sometimes, even with warning messages on screen, emails still slip through the net and are sent unsafely.
Awareness alone is not enough. Research by Gartner shows that 74% of employees surveyed sometimes deliberately handle information in an unsafe manner. So why should we rely on awareness?
Generation 3: security by default
SecuMailer’s approach with secure mail 3.0 is all about seamless, organization-wide security. It no longer relies on awareness, but goes for “security by default.”
Senders no longer have to make choices and don’t have to worry about the secure transmission of their emails. Security is managed centrally within the organization by specialists, such as privacy officers or IT administrators. This allows users to continue to focus on their work. Recipients no longer have to identify themselves for each message, unless the sending organization sets specific rules. Emails arrive in the inbox, where the recipient expects them. Thanks to seamless integration with cloud workplaces, it doesn’t matter which device or email client is used to send emails. Standard settings from the organization, rather than awareness, eliminate human error. The sender can never accidentally send an email insecurely.
Evolution towards secure and simple email communication
In a rapidly changing digital world, secure email has evolved from awareness to seamless protection. From the early stages of individual encryption to the current organization-wide approach, secure email has adapted to offer both convenience and security. This transformation allows us to exchange sensitive information securely and easily via email.
1 Source: GGD GHOR
