How to encrypt an email

Protecting the data entrusted to the university is the responsibility of everyone at the university. When it is appropriate to share protected, restricted, or limited access data, every effort should be made to provide access using a secure delivery method other than e-mail. When necessary, however, it is possible to encrypt your e-mail message. Encrypting e-mail protects the message from being read by anyone other than the intended recipient. At the university, e-mail encryption services are provided by ZixCorp.

Before you send an encrypted e-mail, be sure that:

• The information you are sending is appropriate for the recipient(s),
• The message should be encrypted, and
• Other secure delivery options are not preferable.

*** please note that this is ONLY for use to non-OSU outside email domains. All email that is transported internally between current UES users is considered encrypted and will NOT pass though these services***

Messages to the Wexner Medical Center via UES to the email address of @osumc.edu is also transported via encrypted delivery connection

Considerations include, but are not limited to, the university’s Institutional Data Policy, FERPA, and HIPAA. Review the university’s Institutional Data Policy for more information.

Note:  To encrypt a message using the information below, you must send the e-mail from your University E-mail Service mailbox. If you forward or do not connect directly to the University E-mail Service, the options for encrypting your e-mail below will not work.

Send Encrypted E-mail

There are two ways to encrypt an e-mail message sent from the University E-mail Service:

• Include the phrase “osusecure” (not case sensitive) anywhere in the Subject of your message.
• This option will work with Outlook Web App (OWA) and any University E-mail Service supported client. 
  If you only send encrypted messages occasionally or if you are using OWA or a supported Mac client, include “osusecure” in the Subject and the message will be encrypted.

  Because the encryption phrase is in the Subject line and will not automatically be removed, the message will be encrypted in any reply or forward sent from the University E-mail Service.

• Load the Zix Outlook add-in to your workstation and use the [Encrypt and Send] button.

  This is only an option for Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016.
  If you send messages that need to be encrypted frequently, you may want to load the Zix Outlook add-in to your workstation. Once the add-in is loaded, an [Encrypt & Send] button will be added to your Outlook ribbon:

  

  To load the Zix Outlook add-in, complete a Site License Software request using the IT Service Desk Self Service Order Services feature at ocio.osu.edu/help.
  Be aware that if an e-mail string or conversation develops, you must click [Encrypt & Send] every time you reply in order for the new message to be encrypted, if necessary.

The Recipient Experience

An advantage of working with ZixCorp is that message encryption between ZixCorp customers is transparent. So, if the recipient of your encrypted message is a ZixCorp customer, the message will appear as any other incoming message with the exception of the addition of an encrypted by ZixCorp footer.
Transparent encryption applies to messages sent to the University E-mail Service from other ZixCorp customers as well. For more information, see the Incoming E-mail Encryption IT Knowledge Base article.
If you send an encrypted message to recipient who is not a ZixCorp customer, the e-mail the recipient receives will provide instructions for accessing the encrypted message from the ZixCorp portal.
The ZixCorp service does not provide long-term storage for encrypted messages. Be aware that:

• All messages, both read and unread, will expire and be deleted from the ZixCorp portal 30 days after they are sent.
• If after 14 days a message is not read in the portal, both the sender and recipient will receive an automatic notification that the message has not been read.
• If after 30 days a message is not read in the portal, the sender will receive a notification that the message has not been read before the message is deleted.

Example of the e-mail the recipient (who is not a ZixCorp customer) of an encrypted message from the University E-mail Service will receive:

Once they click on the “Open Message” link, they will be taken to an Account Registration page.  The recipient email address will be filled on automatically, and the recipient will be asked to create a password.

Once they create a password, they will be automatically directed to the Secure Message Center where they can view the message.

If the recipient has already received an email secured by ZipCorp before, they will already have a password associated with their email address. If they have forgotten their password, they simply need to click on the “Reset” button. They will be redirected to a page with their recipient email address filled in where they can create a new password. Once the new password has been created, they will receive a conformation email.  They will not be able to log in with the new password until they click the “ACTIVATE” link in the email.