Email for Business Communication: How to Secure Your Information?

Business communication in today’s world is closely attached to the global context of communication. What we mean is that especially after the global COVID pandemic, when companies adapted to the digitized world and started working remotely or in a hybrid mode, the face of their communication changed accordingly.

This interesting article on Bloomberg talks about how much time we spend in meetings daily, and guess what? Very often we dedicate more than 2 hours a day which actually can be more than most workers need. Now, luckily, after moving the majority of daily meetings to Zoom and Google Meets, a lot of tension is released, because virtual meetings do not require one to sit still and literally stop working for hours. You can join the meeting by opening it on the first half of your desktop and leaving the rest of the space for other tasks to be done simultaneously.

However, as every convenience comes with a price, online communication too has some pitfalls for businesses that value the importance of digital safety. No company can afford to be indifferent about this issue in times when cyber attacks and information leaks are so frequent, even for tech giants like Google and Microsoft.

AI May Compose Your Emails, but is it Worth it?

We live in an era of AI-powered conveniences where up-and-coming industries may surprise people with what human-made intelligence is capable of - from personal communication to business tasks. Today, services like Gmail's Gemini add-on can automatically compose emails for you right in your inbox. Sounds pretty nifty, right? But when it comes to business communications, you have to think twice before handing over sensitive data to an AI writing assistant. 

Imagine this - you need to draft an email discussing those top-secret product specs or responding to a legal issue. By feeding all that confidential information into an AI composer, you're essentially giving a third-party system access to your company's proprietary secrets. And even if the AI claims to be secure, cyber attacks, data breaches and unauthorised access are always a risk that could expose your business. 

So you have to weigh the convenience of AI-assisted writing against the potential fallout of a data leak. AI can be a powerful tool, but when it involves confidential business data, it's best to err on the side of caution with robust security protocols. Your private communications are just that - private. 

Sign Up for End-to-End Encrypted Providers

In the email security game, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is where it's at. Unlike regular email services that might encrypt your messages along the way but leave them accessible on their servers, E2EE encryption means your emails are under digital lockdown from the moment you hit send until they reach the recipient. 

Encrypted email providers like ProtonMail and Tutanota have a huge leg up on mainstream options like Gmail or Outlook. With their servers unable to even access the decrypted content of your messages, your confidential business communications stay tightly sealed. Even if a hacker tried to snoop, they'd just be staring at scrambled gibberish. 

Here's how the magic happens: Your email gets encrypted locally on your device with a unique private key before ever leaving your outbox. Only the recipient with the corresponding key can decrypt and read that message. Simple yet ingeniously secure. 

For companies dealing with sensitive data, E2E encrypted email really is a no-brainer investment to safeguard your privacy. Sure, it might take some adjusting to new email habits, but that's a small price for ironclad communications security. 

Don't Allow Personal Emails in the Workspace

You'll often find a colleague, who constantly uses their personal email for work-related tasks. This is a massive security risk just waiting to bite your company square in the assets. 

Personal email accounts lack the robust security features and data protection necessary for business communications. They're way more susceptible to hacking, phishing scams, and are a sure shot way of putting your company's private information in the crosshairs. 

It's worth noting that the average data breach costs organisations a whopping $4.45 million according to recent stats. Just one compromised personal email account could expose client records, financial data, and trade secrets - causing regulatory nightmares, costly lawsuits, and permanently damaging your reputation.

That's why enforcing a strict "no personal email for company business" cybersecurity policy is critical for shoring up your defences. Also, provision secure company accounts with tight security protocols and access controls. 

Data breaches are no joke, so fostering an environment of email security awareness from the top down goes a long way. Protecting your digital communications safeguards not just your data, but the entire future of your business, is absolutely essential today.