Email has become an integral part of our daily personal and professional communication. Fast, convenient, and readily available, it has become a popular option for transmitting various types of information, including sensitive documents. However, using email to send confidential data comes with significant risks that often need to be noticed.
Phishing and social engineering attacks
Email is a common vector for phishing and social engineering attacks. Cybercriminals often use fake emails that appear to be from trusted sources to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware. Sending sensitive documents to a malicious actor posing as a legitimate recipient can result in your confidential data falling into the wrong hands.
Accidental forwarding and misdelivery
The subsequent risk of using email to send sensitive documents is the possibility of accidental forwarding or misdelivery. It’s too easy to select the wrong recipient from your contact list or inadvertently include someone in the CC or BCC field. Once you hit send, you cannot control who sees your confidential information. Even if you realize your mistake and attempt to recall the message, there’s no guarantee that the unintended recipient still needs to view or download the attachments.
Permanent storage and lack of control
When you send sensitive documents via email, you lose control over their permanence and distribution. Email messages and attachments are often stored indefinitely on servers on both the sender’s and recipient’s sides. This implies that even if you remove the email from your inbox, duplicates of your sensitive data could still be present on different servers, leaving it susceptible to future breaches or unauthorized access. The recipient can easily forward or share your confidential documents without your knowledge or consent.
Insecure mobile devices
The widespread use of mobile devices for checking and sending emails poses another risk to the security of sensitive documents. Mobile devices are more easily lost or stolen than desktop computers. If not properly secured with strong passwords, encryption, and remote wiping capabilities, they become a gateway for unauthorized access to your confidential data. Moreover, mobile devices are often connected to public Wi-Fi networks and quickly intercepted by hackers, putting your sensitive email attachments at risk.
Inadequate encryption of stored emails
Even if your email service does provide encryption for messages in transit, the emails and attachments stored on your device or the recipient’s device may need to be adequately protected. Your sensitive documents are exposed if a hacker gains access to your email account or compromised device. Ensuring the security of your stored emails and attachments is essential, as is using strong, unique passwords for your email accounts. Organize Your Notes with notesonline.com.
Email retention policies and compliance
Many organizations have email retention policies that automatically delete emails after a certain period to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. However, these policies may inadvertently lead to losing critical sensitive documents if you rely solely on email for storage and transmission. If you’re sending sensitive documents via email in regulated industries like healthcare or finance, you may be violating compliance standards that require secure, auditable methods of communication.
