How to Send Secure Confidential Emails to Customers

Staying connected with your customers is essential for your business's success. Email continues to be a potent tool in business communication, with an estimated 80% of users checking their inboxes daily.

The convenience and versatility of email are unparalleled. However, despite its widespread use, with around 3.4 million emails sent every second, email is not always the safest way to communicate.

Why Do Emails Need to Be Secure?

As a business, you often exchange sensitive information through emails that could be detrimental if accessed by unauthorised parties.

This includes data such as full names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank details of your customers.

Criminals with access to this data can exploit it for malicious purposes, such as:

• Using card information to make purchases.
• Applying for credit cards or loans in the victim’s name.
• Submitting fake tax returns to claim refunds.
• Using health insurance details to access private medical care.
• Selling private information on the dark web.

For organisations that manage large volumes of data, maintaining customer trust is crucial.

A significant 33% of UK businesses that experience data breaches lose customers as a result. Therefore, securing emails against threats is imperative.

Why Are Emails Not Considered Secure?

Emails were originally developed as a file-sharing system at MIT in the 60s. They were not designed with the robust security features needed for today’s usage.

This makes them vulnerable to cybercriminal activities such as:

Phishing: Attackers trick users into clicking on dangerous links, leading to harmful websites or downloading malware.

Interception: Threat actors position themselves between you and the data source, gathering personal information like usernames and passwords.

Impersonation: By mimicking legitimate companies, cybercriminals persuade individuals to share sensitive data.

Besides these threats, human error is also a major factor. Businesses are 61% more likely to send sensitive data to the wrong recipient than to fall victim to phishing.

How Can You Make Email Secure?

Several strategies can help businesses secure their emails and safeguard customers' information from cyber threats.

Encryption

Encryption allows you to disguise the contents of your emails and attachments.

The process uses ‘keys’ to lock your data, preventing unauthorised access.

End-to-end encryption offers the strongest defence, securing emails from sender to recipient.

Explore email encryption in more detail.

Identity Authentication

Authentication, such as multi-factor checks, is increasingly common.

Email authentication ensures recipients prove their identity, using methods like:

SMS: A code sent via text.

Q&A: A personal question only they can answer.

Biometrics: Face or fingerprint recognition.

Message Revoke

We’ve all sent an email to the wrong person.

Revoke tools block access after the fact.

Outlook has a basic recall option, but it’s limited. Mailock offers a full revoke feature that works instantly across providers.

Secure Email

The best protection combines all these methods.

Our Mailock solution includes:

• Military-grade AES-256 encryption
• Multi-factor authentication
• Full message revoke
• Free read and reply for clients
• Read alerts and audit trails

References

How Many Emails Does the Average Person Receive Per Day?, Earthweb, 2024

People Sent 74 Trillion Emails Last Year, Earthweb, 2024

What Do Hackers Do With Stolen Information?, Experian, 2023

UK B2B Research Summary, RedSeal, 2019

History of Email, The Guardian, 2016

Reviewed by

Sabrina McClune, 18.06.24

Sam Kendall, 16.06.25