End-to-end encryption (E2EE) will be added to Gmail

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) will be added to Gmail online on Friday, enabling enrolled Google Workspace users to send and receive encrypted emails within and outside their domain.

The organization says that the component isn’t yet accessible to clients with individual Google Records or Google Work area Basics, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Besides, Venture Basics, Instruction Essentials, Bleeding edge, and Not-for-profits, as well as inheritance G Suite Fundamental and Business clients.

Users of Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Meet, and Google Calendar (beta) already had access to client-side encryption, which Google refers to as E2EE.

Once empowered, Gmail client-side encryption will guarantee that any delicate information conveyed as a component of the email’s body and connections can’t be unscrambled by Google servers.

According to Google’s support website, “With Google Workspace Client-side encryption (CSE), content encryption is handled in the client’s browser before any data is transmitted or stored in Drive’s cloud-based storage.”

This prevents Google servers from decrypting your data and gaining access to your encryption keys. You can select which users can create client-side encrypted content and share it internally or externally after setting up CSE.

Customers of Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard currently have access to the Gmail E2EE beta.

By submitting their Gmail CSE Beta Test Application, which must include the email address, Project ID, and test group domain, they can apply for the beta until January 20, 2023.

Administrators can set up Gmail CSE for their users by following the steps below to set up their environment, prepare S/MIME certificates for each user in the test group, and configure the key service and identity provider after Google sends an email confirming that the account is ready.

Admin console > Security > Access and data control > Client-side encryption can be enabled at the domain, organizational unit, and Group levels. The feature will be disabled by default.

By clicking the lock icon next to the Recipients field and selecting “Turn on” under the “Additional encryption” option, once enabled, you can turn on E2EE for any message.

After that, you can add email attachments and compose your Gmail message as you normally would.

Google stated, “All data at rest and in transit between our facilities already uses the most recent cryptographic standards.”

“Client-side encryption assists in addressing a wide range of data sovereignty and compliance requirements while strengthening the confidentiality of your data.”