At present we find ourselves with a dilemma and great doubts when our information travels from one place to another through the Internet. It is as if we say we have to send it as a reason and in a hint of sigh, hopefully our mail will arrive well.
By Osvaldo Callegari*
How to digitally sign an email? For most email providers, digitally signing an email is as simple as clicking a button. Many also offer the option to digitally sign all messages that are sent.
How do I add a digital signature to an email in Microsoft Outlook
How should a digitally signed email be viewed?
Example of a digitally signed email in MicrosoftOutlook
The red ribbon indicates that the email was digitally signed. You can also see the identity of the person who signed it, it will appear under the subject line.
The recipient of the message can instantly see that the email was digitally signed and who signed it. He or she can be sure that the email actually comes from the right person and has not been falsified, and that the mail contention has not been changed since it was sent.
Clicking on the red ribbon verifies the validity of the signature and at the same time offers the option to get more details about the certificate that was used to be signed.
Digital signature details viewed from Microsoft Outlook
How to encrypt an email? Much like digitally signing an email. Encrypting an email is usually as simple as clicking on the decryption option in your email provider.
How to encrypt an email by using Microsoft Office
However, there is a key difference between encryption and digital signatures. To send an encrypted email, the recipient must also have a digital certificate and the two parties involved need to exchange public keys (Part of their Digital certificate).
This is due to the cryptographic process that takes place during encryption. The sender's private key and the recipient's public key are used to encrypt the content of the email, so you will need the keys in order to start the encryption process.
If the user has already received an email digitally signed by the recipient, he already has the public key (since this is included in the signature). If not, you will need to ask the recipient to send a digitally signed email.
For more details on public key cryptography, the role of public and private keys, and how they are used in digital signatures and encryption, see our related article at
http://www.globalsign.com/ssl-information-center/what-is-public-keycryptography.html
What does an encrypted email look like?
Example of a digitally signed and encrypted email seen in Microsoft Outlook. In this case the red ribbon also indicates that the email was digitally signed and the identity of the person signing appears in the subject line. You may also see a padlock indicating that the email has been encrypted. The recipient of the message can instantly see that the email was digitally signed, that he or she signed it, and that it has been encrypted.
He or she can be sure that the email actually comes from the right person and was not altered, that the content has not been changed since it was sent, and that the content is not visible to other people.
Clicking on the padlock verifies that the email has been encrypted and provides the option to view more details about the digital certificate used to sign and encrypt the mail.
What kind of email security should I use?
It's clear that digital signatures and email encryption can help you mitigate digital threats like falling into the trap of fake email spoofing and loss of information, but you may wonder if this is the best email solution for you. There are many types of email security solutions and organizations that offer these types of products on the market,
Do you need to send sensitive information via email?
What kind of regulations do you need to follow? (For example, HIPPA; FIPPA; PCI regulations focused on the transmission of confidential information)
Has your organization been the victim of email spoofing or other types of phishing attacks?
How will the solution authenticate the person sending the email?
Does the solution ensure that the content of emails is not altered after they are sent?
What is the implementation process like? Will it be easy for the IT team to implement?
Will this solution be easy for you and other users in your organization to adopt?
What type of email provider do you use?
There are many variables to consider when analyzing possible solutions, but no one knows your company better than you do. Your biggest concerns (Phishing, loss of information, etc.), your email infrastructure, regulations that you need to comply with, these are all factors unique to your organization and are what will determine which solution is best for you. Each organization will have its own requirements and priorities, we hope that the questions asked above will help you to have a clear idea when evaluating your options.
As email communications continue to grow, the risk of using it will continue to increase. With threats such as phishing and information loss growing daily, electronic security must be a priority for all businesses.
You already know the risks of using email. You've learned how digital signatures and encryption can help you mitigate them. You already possess the knowledge to compare email security solutions. So, now it's time to implement an email security plan for your company.
You can contact GlobalSign for more information about these solutions:
www.globalsign.com|[email protected]
References
1. Email Statistics Report 2013-2017, TheRadicati Group, Inc.
2. SilverSky Email Security Habits Survey Report, SilverSky, 2013
3. Best Practices in Email, Web, and Social Media Security, Osterman Research, Inc., January 2014
4. Global Cost of Data Breach Study, Ponemon Institute, 2014
5. Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 19, Symantec, 2014
6. Spam Statistics Report, Kaspersky Lab, Quarter 3 2013
7. A Security Officer Debate: Are simulated phishing attacks an effective approach to security awareness and training?, Wombat Security Technologies,
8. Email Security, The Use of Digital Signatures and Encryption, GlobalSign Latin America 2015
To download the eBook please go to the following link: https://www.globalsign.com/es/lp/download-email-firmas-digitales-cifrado/
GlobalSign makes it easy for you to digitally sign and encrypt your emails. Digitally signing and encrypting your emails prove the origin of the email, prevent message manipulation, and protect sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Sign up for a demo of GlobalSign's email signing and encryption solution so you realize how easy email security can be.
PictureMe, an application for Alzheimer's patients
The application contributes to the improvement and quality of life of those who suffer from the disease. PictureMe, is a mobile application that allows those who suffer from the disease to record every moment of their lives, thus contributing to the improvement of their memory and their quality of life
Alzheimer's disease is a terrible neurodegenerative disease, affecting memory, thinking, behavior, and daily activities as nerve cells (neurons) die.
It appears more frequently in people over 65 years of age, affecting today 37 million people, and due to the increase in expectation of the population, it is estimated that in 2050 there will be 115 million who will suffer this disease.
While to this day the syndrome is incurable, there are different ways to reduce its impact.
The prestigious neuroscientist and researcher Facundo Manes, trained at Harvard and Cambridge, director of the "Alzheimer's Institute" and author of the book "Living with people with Alzheimer's and other dementias", signs that "one of the most effective strategies to reduce cognitive decline is to protect those healthy neurons"
Following this same line, and contributing to improve the quality of life and mitigate the cognitive deterioration of those who are affected, and within the Corporate Social Responsibility policies of our company, we have developed PictureMe, which turns the equipment into an "InstantLifeRecorder", that is, an instant life recorder.
PictureMe is an Open Source application and can be obtained 100% free, so that everyone affected or the family environment of the one who suffers from the disease can access it. The application will also be available from the Android Market the income obtained will be transferred to the NGO Salud Activa, a non-profit institution whose mission is to improve the quality of life of people and the community.
PictureMe allows its users to keep a daily and every few seconds of their environment. According to scientific studies from the University of Cambridge, it was found that the review of daily events documented in photos allows to improve memory and quality of life in Alzheimer's patients.
An antecedent of Pictureme is Sensecam, a device with the same objective created by Microsoft, licensed by various companies for marketing. At a cost of more than $400.
With the popularization of smartphones, the continuous improvement in built-in cameras and the increase in hardware of devices, PictureMe today becomes an ideal ally for the containment of disease.
References
1. Email Statistics Report 2013-2017, The Radicati Group, Inc.
2. SilverSky Email Security Habits Survey Report, SilverSky, 2013
3. Best Practices in Email, Web, and Social Media Security, Osterman Research, Inc., January 2014
4. Global Cost of Data Breach Study, Ponemon Institute, 2014
5. Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 19, Symantec, 2014
6. Spam Statistics Report, Kaspersky Lab, Quarter 3 2013
7. A Security Officer Debate: Are simulated phishing attacks an effective approach to security awareness and training?, Wombat Security Technologies
Thanks to Julie Olenski and Eduardo Zambrano for their contribution to this research. Likewise to Francisco Amato and Ezequiel Rapaport of Info Security ResearchLabs.
*To contact the author of this article write to [email protected]
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