Google Brings End-to-End Encrypted Emails to All Enterprise Gmail Users

Google on Tuesday announced that enterprise users can now send end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) email messages to Gmail inboxes within their organization.

Currently rolling out in beta, the capability will soon allow enterprise users to send E2EE emails to any Gmail inbox, and then to any inbox, by the end of the year.

The improved security measure, the internet giant explains, is an alternative to the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) protocol, which requires the acquisition, management, and per-user deployment of certificates to use.

“And end users have to figure out whether they and the recipient have S/MIME configured (few do), and then go through the hassle of exchanging certificates before the encrypted emails can be exchanged,” Google notes.

While other alternatives to S/MIME exist, they also require the sharing of encryption keys or complex resources, impacting the user experience and adding burden to the IT staff ...