OIT offers an email encryption service for faculty and staff who transmit highly sensitive data.
Getting Started
Requesting Access
Please contact the IT Help Desk at 214-768-HELP (4357) or help@smu.edu to request access to the service.
How It Works
- The outgoing email is encrypted for an external recipient.
- The recipient receives an email alerting them of the encrypted message.
- The recipient click on a link and logs into the Cisco Ironport portal in order to retrieve the data.
- The original sender also has the option to expire the email or remove the email to prevent further access to the information if needed.
Please note:
Only emails sent to recipients with non-SMU email addresses can be encrypted with this service.
Using the Service
There are two ways to encrypt the message once you have been granted permissions to use the encryption service:
- Simply add [smuencrypt] in the subject line of your message (all lower case with the brackets included)
- Install the Outlook plug in. An encrypt button will appear for all new messages that you compose. Click on that button before clicking Send. The Outlook plug in is only available for Windows with 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office. You can download the plugin from smu.edu/EmailSecurity
Please note: The recipient will receive a notification that they have received a secure message. The first time they receive an encrypted message they will be prompted to register. Directions will be provided in their email.