Email Encryption Software

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What Does Email Encryption Software Mean?

Email encryption software is an encryption utility that enables securing the contents of an email message when in transit.

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It enables the encryption of an email message in a non-readable form so that its contents are not viewable by hackers, eavesdroppers or unauthorized recipients.

Techopedia Explains Email Encryption Software

Email encryption software is primarily used in enterprise email and messaging environments where each email message is encrypted before being transmitted over the network. Typically, email encryption software is installed or integrated within the core email server or messaging application or works as a proxy.

Each outgoing email is encrypted using public or private key cryptography and can only be revealed or extracted using a private key. Furthermore, email encryption software usually broadcasts an email message on the network using a secure protocol such as:

  • PGP
  • S/MIME
  • TLS

In addition to enterprise email encryption, email encryption software is also used by end users, where the software works as an independent utility or is integrated into an email client as a plug-in.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.