How to Send Secure Messages In Outlook Using OME
Encrypted emails can be easily sent using OME, Outlook offers an Encrypt button found within the Options tab on the new window that appears when composing a new message. So, to successfully send an encrypted message using OME:
- Begin composing a new message.
- In the top menu, click Options. Then, click Permissions> Encrypt Only (Outlook 2019) or Encrypt.(Outlook 365 Desktop)
- A message should appear notifying the sender that encryption will be applied to the message.
- Complete the email and click Send as one normally would.
** Please note this message will be able to open via the recipent listed, this does not protect against emails being sent to the wrong address**
How Your Recipient Opens Your Encrypted Email
When an external recipient receives an email encrypted with OME and are not using Outlook, the initial email does not include any of the actual email content or attachments. Instead, they will be prompted to verify their identity via Office 365. After clicking Read the message, recipients will choose to do so with either a one-time passcode or by logging in to a school or work account. Users of free webmail services like Yahoo and Gmail may be prompted to log-in to their accounts on those platforms. Unless the recipient has an Office 365 account associated with the same email address that the email was sent to, recipients should choose the one-time passcode option, which will be delivered via a separate email from Microsoft Office 365 Message Encryption. After this code is copied and pasted into the initial webpage that requested it, the email contents will be decrypted. Please refer to the images below to review this process. However, it is important to note that all attachments must be manually downloaded to be opened.
