Microsoft sheds light on Office 365 encryption expansion

sincity · February 19, 2015

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/office_365-470-75.jpg

Microsoft has released a new set of guidelines to its Office 365 customers on how they can configure encryption to protect sensitive data as well as updates on when they will be available to mobile customers.

A blog post explained that Office 365 encryption is used in two major ways by Microsoft with one implemented in the service itself and the second way giving Office 365 customers control over how it works.

Customer have three primary encryption controls that are Office 365 Message Encryption, Information Rights Management (IRM) and S/MIME, which can all be adapted to meet the requirements of specific companies.

Office 365 Message Encryption allows messages sent to external recipients to be protected and they require a Microsoft account of unique password to open the file, and Microsoft also confirmed that there are now apps in the Google Play and iOS App Store to allow them to be viewed on mobile devices.

Shipping with Windows 10

Companies using IRM can encrypt information within the organisation so that only specific people can read certain messages or access information. S/MIME, meanwhile, is a peer-to-peer encryption control that means only the two people involved in the exchange can view the data.

Microsoft plans to deliver enhancements to Message Encryption in Q2 2015 with message expiration, message renovation and user triggered encryption all on the way. IRM will also be expanded to other platforms with Office for iOS, Mac, and Android all seeing it arrive this year, and it will be a part of Windows 10 straight out of the box.

Via: Microsoft