Mail server and email certificates: features of use

The protection of email correspondence is an important aspect for any user and any business. Nobody wants to disclose their private information. In some cases, it can lead to reputations being damaged, disclosure of important business information, which threatens not only the loss of a substantial part of the company’s profit but also more global consequences, and potentially the collapse of the company as a whole.

In this article we will consider the importance of installing SSL certificates on mail servers, and also note the differences between certificates for mail servers and certificates for the emails themselves.

Installing SSL on mail servers - mandatory minimum 

Certificates installed on mail servers are useful for completing several tasks, including:

• Identification and verification of the mail server to which you are connecting
  
• Protection of sent messages from interception (during the process of sending messages from the browser or mail client to the server and back)
  

The lack of an SSL certificate on the mail server is a serious issue as attackers can conduct a MITM (Man-In-The-Middle) attack to intercept your messages.

Just an SSL certificate installed on your server will not be enough. When being sent, messages can also pass through other servers vulnerable to attacks by intruders. Therefore, for complete security, it is also necessary to protect the emails themselves.

Email protection is an important addition

One of the most popular methods of email protection is S/MIME encryption. The use of the S/MIME standard ensures that only the intended recipient of the email will be able to read the email. Encryption of the email is carried out with the help of a public key. Then the decryption is done via a private key, the security of which should be strictly monitored. If the private key is compromised, the attackers will be able to decrypt the message and gain access to your personal information.

Even if the encrypted message passes through vulnerable servers and is intercepted, it will still not be decrypted – as long as the attackers do not have a corresponding private key.

Digital signature – method of email verification

Another important aspect of S/MIME technology is the addition of digital signatures to your emails. The digital signature has the following advantages:

• It allows you to check whether any changes were made to the email after it was sent. In this case, the hash of the message is verified. If the content of the message has changed after sending, then the recipient of the message will see an error that will make it clear that someone has made changes to the email.
  
• It allows you to prove that you are the sender of the email. The signature contains your identification information, which is displayed in the client’s email. 
  

It is important to understand the difference between email encryption and the digital signature of an email: the message is encrypted using a public key and decrypted using a private key; the email is signed using a private key, and the signature is checked using a public key.

An SSL certificate on the mail server plus email protection is an ideal combination to fully protect private correspondence

If you want to ensure that your correspondence is securely protected from prying eyes, install the SSL certificate on your mail server, and also additionally protect all your messages using the S/MIME certificate. In this case, even hacking of mail servers (yours or any other through which emails are sent) will not lead to disclosure of the content of your correspondence.

SSL certificates for mail servers and S/MIME certificates are always available to purchase in our store at the best prices.