How to send to a secure email address

[Meldrew]

Hi.

 

This may be a really dumb question, but the question has been raised by a member of pastoral staff here and I didn't know the answer. I don't know anything much about secure email systems.

 

This person has been sending emails (as requested) to a secure email address, in the form:

 

@cornwall.gcsx.gov.uk

 

After she sent several emails, including one specifically requesting a response, she didn't receive anything, so she decided to call them to ask instead. She was told that the emails wouldn't have come through as they weren't from a secure email system (which makes we wonder what did happen to them).

 

The organisation publish their secure email address on their emails and on their website as a standard mailto link.

 

I'm fairly happy that I know how an email is sent across the Internet and my understanding is that unless you encrypt the email in some way its not secure at all.

 

Having done a bit of research, it seems you need to be signed up to a secure email service, like gcsx, but it looks to me like they're designed for the police or NHS for example.

 

Anyone know any more than me!

 

Meldrew

[Domino]

Depends what they mean, there's really a lot of grey there.

 

I'd imagine it's TLS they're looking for, but it may also be you're failing SPF verification or similar.

 

Unless they're after a key exchange for PGP? really, without knowing their goalposts you're swinging blind I'm afraid...

[Netman]

It's this Government Secure Intranet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I think - unless you're part of it, you won't be able to communicate via that channel - sounds like they need to state that in links and give a second email address for outside use!

[sukh]

Well, who did you speak to at the other end?

When Exch initiates a connection it will "chat" with the other host and will either deliver or not. If it doesn't deliver, it wil give you a NDR, or if you haven't got one then it's in your queue. If you dont geth either, then it's left your Exch org.

To verify this, use MT and check the events.

 

Are they saying some emails are received and the email "where you requested a response" was not delieverd?

 

If they want secure email, then it wont let you send, it will tell you.

[Meldrew]

When Exch initiates a connection it will "chat" with the other host and will either deliver or not. If it doesn't deliver, it wil give you a NDR, or if you haven't got one then it's in your queue. If you dont geth either, then it's left your Exch org.

To verify this, use MT and check the events.

 

Are they saying some emails are received and the email "where you requested a response" was not delieverd?

 

If they want secure email, then it wont let you send, it will tell you.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

I checked Exchange and it reports that they were sent fine and left our organisation. We didn't get an NDR. The other end are saying that they never received our emails at all, but to be honest I think they must have - maybe someone just accidentally deleted them.

[sukh]

If Exch is saying that the message has left then it's out of your control. Either it's been lost on the way by another MTA (your ISP's issue) of the receiving Org has received it & it's gone "missing"

[MatthewL]

Having worked in the NHS and using the NHSMail which is classed as secure I'll put my bit to this if I may.

 

Any domain covered by .x.gsi.gov.uk; .gsi.gov.uk; .gse.gov.uk; .gsx.gov.uk; .pnn.police.uk; .cjsm.net; .scn.gov.uk; .gcsx.gov.uk, .mod.uk but not org.nhs.uk are part of the GovConnect secure email domains. Basically each of these domains will have a secure connection provided by C&W at a cost which will enable these messages to be sent securely. For example a local authority will have their normal la.gov.uk and la.gcsx.gov.uk hosted on their in house mail server. Now depending how this is configured locally it will possibly not let users send from their la.gov.uk to any GovConnect address and they will have to resend the message using their la.gcsx.gov.uk.

 

If you have a GovConnect email with any domain of .x.gsi.gov.uk; .gsi.gov.uk; .gse.gov.uk; .gsx.gov.uk; .pnn.police.uk; .cjsm.net; .scn.gov.uk; .gcsx.gov.uk, .mod.uk you can send to any address unless restrictions have been put in place locally to prevent data been sent out. Now in the NHS for those who are using the national NHS Mail anything can be sent to anywhere but certain messages may have their attachments stripped depending if its a certain file.

 

Now one LA I know of allows their la.gov.uk to send to NHS Mail as more and more NHS services are moving this and for sending normal emails it was becoming a time issue. Any NHS domain that is *.nhs.uk is not secure, this is just the same as sending to la.gov.uk or [email protected].

 

Each organisation is setup differently and some will reject emails if not part of the "secure domains" list.

 

Here is some information from a NHS point of view.

 

Not sure if I have made things worse or explained it better or just confused you all but just wanted to try and help.

 

If there are any queries let me know and I will try and answer where I can.

[twin--turbo]

If Exch is saying that the message has left then it's out of your control. Either it's been lost on the way by another MTA (your ISP's issue) of the receiving Org has received it & it's gone "missing"

 

NDR's are probably turned off on the receiving server, ours are turned off.

 

Rob

[sukh]

NDR's are probably turned off on the receiving server, ours are turned off.

 

Rob

 

Good point but if the message has left the org its not a exch issue.