* Reader question about encryption for protecting communications
On a recent Network World post, someone asked the following question: “My boss is communicating with a client who distrusts his IT department. So this client has asked my boss what he should use to keep his messages private and of course this task has moved on to me. I’m trying to figure out what the differences are and which one would be best for him. Can anyone help?”
Given the growing importance of encryption to protect communications leaving an organization, it’s a very good question and one that has a variety of answers depending on the specifics of an organization. For example, choosing an encryption capability depends on how many users will need the capability; what needs will be in the future; whether encryption should be desktop-to-desktop or just server-to-server; current IT policies surrounding archiving and the need to index content (encrypted data generally cannot be indexed); cost constraints; delivery models (hosted vs. on-premise software vs. appliances); the security of the solution; its ease of use; and a variety of other factors.
Our research has found that encryption would be used frequently by about 20% of users in the typical organization, although encryption is one of those technologies that will be used more widely if its available and easy to use. For example, a marketing manager might not believe he needs encryption capability to send and receive graphics files from an external graphics design firm via e-mail. However, if the capability was easy to use and built into the e-mail client, for example, sending these files encrypted would be commonplace and would expand the number of encrypted e-mail users in an organization.
In short, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered when evaluating and choosing an encryption capability. Join in the discussion on this topic.
