Regular email is closer to a postcard than a sealed letter — readable by anything it passes through along the way. For sensitive client communication, that’s a real problem “we use Office 365” doesn’t automatically solve.
Not sure if your sensitive client communications are actually encrypted? Contact us for a free assessment — no pressure, no obligation.
What Encryption Actually Protects Against
Encrypted email scrambles a message’s contents so that only the intended recipient can read it — protecting it in transit and, depending on configuration, at rest on the server. Without it, an email intercepted in transit, accessed through a compromised mail server, or forwarded to the wrong address is readable by whoever has it. For privileged, financial, or otherwise sensitive communication, that’s the exposure encryption closes.
Why “We Use Office 365” Isn’t Automatically an Answer
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both support encryption, but it’s frequently not turned on, or it’s configured in a way that only encrypts messages when a user remembers to flag them manually. Default settings prioritize convenience over security — which means a business can be running one of these platforms for years without message-level encryption ever being properly configured.
What Good Configuration Looks Like
- Automatic encryption rules for messages containing sensitive data patterns, so protection doesn’t rely on a person remembering.
- A simple, one-click option for staff to manually encrypt a message when the automatic rules wouldn’t catch it.
- Encryption that doesn’t break the recipient’s experience — the best setups are seamless enough that clients don’t need special software to read a secure message.
Can You Do This Yourself?
Yes — the encryption features exist in the plans most businesses already pay for. The gap is almost always configuration: someone has to actually turn the rules on, test that they trigger correctly, and make sure they don’t quietly break for a new employee’s mailbox six months later.
The Bottom Line
Encrypted email and client communication is part of what’s included in LME Services IT for law firms. Schedule a free consultation and we’ll check whether your sensitive communications are actually protected right now.
Common questions
It scrambles a message's contents so only the intended recipient can read it, protecting it from being readable if intercepted in transit, accessed through a compromised mail server, or forwarded to the wrong address.
No — "we use Office 365" isn't automatically an answer; encryption for sensitive communication typically needs to be specifically configured.
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