Secure Notification emails

Overview

In this help center article we'll go over what happens when an email recipient does not have an email host that can supports modern email encryption (Transport Layer Security v1.2 or higher). 

Why & What

Transport Layer Security (TLS) ensures emails are encrypted in transit. In other words, when two email servers use TLS, it's like they can do a secret handshake/handoff to exchange your email. We like this because portals can be avoided.

Unfortunately, ~5% of email hosts do not support TLS at all. Meaning, when you unknowingly email an address that is hosted by one of these "HIPAA Violation Landmines," your email host will just send your email in clear text, also known as unencrypted. It's like your email host saying, "No secret handshake, no problem. I can just send your sensitive information anyways". This is where Paubox comes in to save the day!

In addition, some email hosts only support obsolete versions of TLS (v1.0, or v1.1). 

In both of these instances (recipients not supporting TLS, or only obsolete versions of TLS), Paubox keeps your message secure and encrypted and sends a Secure Notification email on your behalf. The recipients can click on a link to view and reply to your email in a secure portal that's encrypted.

How

If a recipient’s mail server is not setup to handle modern encryption, we convert the message into an encrypted message via a secure https URL. In order for the recipient to view your message, they must either click on the Click here to view or View Message button.

After they click the link, they will be able to view the message, download any attachments, and reply. Their reply and any attachments they upload will be encrypted and sent to you.

To help give you a better sense of what this experience looks like we have provided images for the following 5 steps of the experience:

1. Compose an email like any other email. No added steps. No special procedures. Just email.
2. Your recipient receives an email just like any other email. The best part is your organization's logo will be at the top letting them know the message is from you.
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3. Your recipient clicks on "View Message" to view, download or upload attachments, and reply securely back to you. 
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4. Your recipient clicks on "Reply" to compose and/or download/upload attachments securely back to you. 
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5. Your recipient clicks "Send" once there ready to securely send and encrypt.
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