Google says that after Gmail's new E2EE model rolls out, business users will be able to send fully encrypted emails to any user on any email service or platform without having to worry about complex certificate requirements. Google has started rolling out a new end-to-end encryption (E2EE) model for Gmail enterprise users, making it easier to send encrypted emails to any recipient. Gmail CSE has been available for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers since February 2023, and was introduced in Gmail on the web as a beta test in December 2022 after an initial rollout to Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Meet, and Google Calendar (in beta). To send a new encrypted email, Gmail users only have to turn on the "Additional encription" option when writing the message. "This capability, requiring minimal efforts for both IT teams and end users, abstracts away the traditional IT complexity and substandard user experiences of existing solutions, while preserving enhanced data sovereignty, privacy, and security controls," Google said today. This ensures that all transmitted data is encrypted on the client before being sent to Google's cloud-based storage, which helps meet regulatory requirements, such as data sovereignty, HIPAA, and export controls, by rendering it indecipherable to Google and third-party entities. While businesses also have the option to configure the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) protocol to send digitally signed and encrypted messages, this requires significant resources, including deploying certificates to all users and exchanging them before sending the emails. Recipients using Google's Gmail mobile app or non-Gmail email clients will receive a link to sign in and view the email in a restricted version of Gmail. However, when the recipient has S/MIME configured on their account, Gmail will automatically send an E2EE email via S/MIME (just as it does today). "We're rolling this out in a phased approach, starting today, in beta, with the ability to send E2EE emails to Gmail users in your own organization.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:40:05 +0000