Benefits of using the S/MIME certificate by a private user

Is it worth using the S/MIME certificate for private email?

S/MIME are certificates used to encrypt emails. They protect against unauthorized access and reading of a message content. You might think that such a certificate is only useful for business correspondence, but is it true? In this article, we will outline the benefits of using S/MIME in private email boxes.

Privacy thanks to certificates

We are sure that most of us have wondered at some point in our lives whether e-mail messages are secure and resistant to attacks by cybercriminals. Are transfer confirmations, personal information needed to process orders, bookings or deal with official matters safe when sent via email? 

During the pandemic and lockdown, the popularity of electronic communication increased and it is not expected to change. By e-mail we book hotels, make complaints or contact official authorities. But do we have confidence that this data is protected against interception by strangers who will use it to steal our money or take out loans? 

If emails are not encrypted, and in addition, we connect to a public Wi-Fi network, we are at risk of our correspondence being intercepted, and data stolen. When you want to preserve the confidentiality of the correspondence you send, the best option is to use S/MIME, which effectively encrypts messages. With the certificate, only the addressee will read their content.

Identification of the sender

When we receive an e-mail from the address anna.nowak@email.com, we cannot be 100% sure that it really comes from Anna Nowak. Anna is our colleague from school. She sends us funny pictures from her vacation.  Or perhaps it is an e-mail from a criminal who is impersonating Anna Nowak. And as an attachment, he sends us a file with malware instead of pictures. Is it possible to avoid such a situation? 

Doubts about the sender of the e-mail are dispelled by S/MIME, with an extended level of validation. In addition to the email address, it contains the name of the certificate holder. The center will verify in detail the identity of the person applying for the certificate, including whether he/she has access to a certified e-mail address. When S/MIME is attached to a message, we have no doubt who the message was sent from.

Prestige and security

In addition to e-mails containing private information, more official information is sent from e-mail boxes. A resume document sent by job seekers can serve as a good example here. How much better and professional such a message looks if it is encrypted and signed. This can be especially important in industries such as IT, new technologies and others in which security is a special value. 

The use of a digital certificate will be seen as an additional advantage when computer literacy and attention to data security are expected from a candidate. In the body of the resume we provide important information such as address, phone number, date of birth or other data that should not fall into the wrong hands.

S/MIME certificate is useful in private life

As you can see, certificates for encrypting and signing e-mails are useful not only at work, but also in private life. They ensure the security of our data, but also increase the prestige and professionalism of the e-mails we send. 

Effectively secured email data should be the foundation for operating in a digital world. S/MIME guarantees that the recipient of the message will receive it in a form that is unaltered and protected from being read by unauthorized persons, and that the e-mail actually comes from the person who appears in the sender field.