Encrypting Your Email Messages
July 25, 2023 Fred Smith
Encrypting an email message ensures that the content of your email remains private and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals.
When you need to protect the privacy of an email message, encrypt it.
When you include the word [SECURE] — including the brackets and not case sensitive — anywhere in the subject line of an Outlook email, the message and any attachments will be encrypted.
Encrypting an email message ensures that the content of your email remains private and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals. Only the recipients of a message included in the To: or Cc: fields will be able to read the encrypted message. The message and any attachments remain encrypted if shared with anyone not included in the original email. Don’t use braces { }. You must use brackets [ ].
Always use [SECURE] to encrypt a message when an email or attachment includes any of the following data as defined by the Office of the Attorney General:
An individual’s first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one or more of the following data elements:
- Social Security number, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, a passport number, or other identification number issued by the federal government
- A driver’s license number or state identification card number
- An account number, a credit card number, or a debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password, that permits access to an individual’s financial account
- Health information, including information about an individual’s mental health, Medical Record Number
- A username or email address in combination with a password or security question and answer that permits access to an individual’s email account.
How Can Non-UMB Individuals Send Me a [SECURE] Email?
Create an email containing the word [SECURE] in the subject line and send to the recipient with whom you’d like to establish an encrypted email thread.
The email recipient must click the Read the Message button to open the email; this ensures that their reply will be encrypted in return.
All additional communication between sender and recipients will remain encrypted.
The key component of this workflow is that the initial message must originate from a UMB email address and be encrypted — via the word [SECURE] in the subject line.
There are additional instructions available to implement subject line keyword encryption on the Center for Information Technology Services and University of Maryland School of Medicine webpages that include explicit details and screenshots.
You should familiarize yourself with how to encrypt emails and anytime you need to share sensitive data make sure to include [SECURE] in the subject line.
Sending Secure Encrypted Emails — Center for Information Technology Services (umaryland.edu)
Sending Secure Encrypted Email | University of Maryland School of Medicine (umaryland.edu)
