Email is how your company keeps business moving. It’s so easy to click the Send button that your employees may not realize the risk. In the past you may have found it easier to turn a blind eye, especially for an issue that does not appear to be a business priority. But a never-ending cycle of email controversies and breach news are raising awareness for the risk of unsecure email. Understanding the challenge and how to solve it – without interrupting your business processes – is quickly becoming a priority.
The Risks to Your Bottom Line
Your company is exchanging emails that contain corporate data that’s valuable to you, your customers, and your partners. But the content in these emails can also be valuable to your competitors and hackers who can sell your data for a nice profit. Without the proper security measures in place, it’s easy for an unauthorized person to capture corporate data in email as it travels across the public Internet. Worse yet, you and your company may never know it’s happening. And the results can be costly.
According to the Ponemon Institute’s annual “Cost of a Data Breach” report, the average cost of responding to and resolving a corporate data breach is $3.8 million. And that number does not reflect potential lawsuits, brand damage or the revenue loss of customer business. It also doesn’t account for any regulatory fines that may be associated with expanding industry or state requirements.
The Dilemma of Difficult Email Encryption
One way to protect email content is with encryption, which makes both the message text and any attachments indecipherable to unauthorized individuals. Although the behind-the-scenes algorithms are complex, the user experience must be easy for email encryption to be effective. But not all email encryption solutions take simplicity into consideration, and the consequences of implementing difficult email encryption may prove worse than not having a solution at all.
Employee Workarounds
Most employees wouldn’t purposely place the company, customers, and partners at risk, but if email encryption interferes with executing their responsibilities, they will look for an easier way. Whether that includes using personal email or unauthorized Cloud storage such as Dropbox, your employees will find a way to efficiently meet the needs of their role.
Complaints from Your Most Valuable Customers and Partners
Whether your company is communicating with consumers or other businesses, email is a convenient tool that most people can use without any trouble. Introduce cumbersome extra steps associated with decrypting email and you’ll experience plenty of customer and partner complaints.
Disruption to Your Business
The hassle created by complaints is one thing, but even worse is the delay of critical business communication because customers and partners have trouble opening and replying to encrypted emails. Requiring too many extra steps for what should be simple email communication will certainly impact decision making and slow business workflow.
Introducing ZixGateway with Cisco Technology
Email encryption does not have to be difficult. ZixGateway with Cisco Technology (ZCT) combines the ease of use of Zix Email Encryption with the trusted delivery method of Cisco Post X Envelope (PXE). An on-premises solution, ZCT makes encrypted email just as easy to use as regular email and enables you to take advantage of benefits including:
Automatic Scanning of Employee Emails
Powerful email encryption allows your employees to maintain their normal workflow and focus on their responsibilities. With automatic scanning and the use of proven and up-to-date policy filters, emails with sensitive content are encrypted without user action. Removing the hassle and taking the decision out of your employees’ hands eliminates human error and better protects your email.
Convenient Delivery for Recipients
If your employees don’t have to take any extra steps to encrypt email, why shouldn’t your customers and partners be able skip the hassle too? ZCT automatically decrypts emails if recipients use the same platform. For others who don’t use the same platform, recipients can receive the message using PXE or a mobile-friendly pull method.
Smooth Mobile Experience
Business is no longer conducted behind a desk. Smartphones and tablets have expanded the workplace and work hours, and more users spend time on email while on their mobile devices than on any other Internet-enabled activity. With this increasing dependence on mobile devices, convenient mobile delivery of encrypted messages is a critical component to keeping business moving and making your customers and business partners secure and happy.
To learn more about the advantages of ZCT and how innovative email encryption can better protect your email and your company, click here or contact your Cisco sales representative or reseller.
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