Guidance for sending and receiving an encrypted NHSmail e-mail

Contents Introduction 2 Sending an encrypted e-mail to a VERIFIED e-mail address 2 Receiving an encrypted e-mail 4 Reply to and forward encrypted e-mails 7 Registration - If you have not previously received an encrypted email from the Trend Micro email encryption service (Gmail, Hotmail .nhs.uk) 8 Keeping encrypted e-mails secure 11 Blocked file extensions and attachments 11

Frequently asked questions 12

Adding your NHSmail inbox into your Outlook inbox and how to switch between e-mail accounts 13

How to switch between email accounts 15

Distribution lists 17

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Introduction

NHSmail is national secure email service for health and social care designed to enable the

secure exchange of information by email. Users of the service send from an email address

ending with either @nhs.net or @hscic.gov.uk.

The service allows NHSmail users to send secure, encrypted emails to any email service

such as free global hosted email services such as Gmail/Hotmail and company run email

services.

This document provides guidance for recipients of encrypted emails sent from an NHSmail

account. It explains how to open and read an encrypted email and send an encrypted reply.

It also provides important guidance about information governance and ensuring sensitive

information that has been received remains secure.

Sending an encrypted e-mail to a VERIFIED e-mail address

(i.e. you are certain of the recipient i.e. you have emailed them before (Gmail, .nhs.uk,

Hotmail)

To send an encrypted e-mail from your NHSmail e-mail address only

(gina.holmes1@nhs.net), create a new e-mail message.

1. Ensure the recipient’s e-mail address is correct. 2. In the Subject field of the e-mail, enter the word [secure] before the subject of the

message. The word secure must be surrounded by the square brackets [secure] for the

message to be encrypted. If square brackets are not used, the content of the e-mail will

be sent unencrypted in plain text, and may potentially be exposed to interception or

amendment. Please see below.

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3. Compose the message.

4. Add any required attachments. 5. Click on Send to send the message. The service will then encrypt the message and

deliver it to the intended recipient. The sent item will be stored unencrypted in your Sent Items folder, and any replies received will be decrypted and displayed as normal in your

NHSmail inbox in either Outlook if you have added the mailbox into your CCG e-mail

account or through logging into NHSmail if you have not added the mailbox into

Outlook: www.nhs.net.

Please note: [secure] is not case sensitive and [SECURE] or [Secure] for example could

also be used.

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3. Click Open my email in the Encrypted_Message.htm file.

4. You will then see this.

The system will display the encrypted message sent to you from NHSmail

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5. You will then be able to:

• Read the From, To, Sent and Subject information

• Read the email message

• Reply to the sender

• Reply to all recipients

• Forward the email

• Download attachments

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Reply to and forward encrypted emails You can reply to or forward encrypted emails. Your emails will be automatically encrypted.

You can include attachments if required.

• Open an encrypted NHSmail email

• Enter your password if the system prompts for it

• Click Reply or Reply All or Forward (as required)

• Enter the recipients in the TO: CC: and BCC: fields

• Edit the Subject field (as required)

• Add attachments (as required)

• Enter a message

• Click Send

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Registration

If you have not previously received an encrypted email from the Trend Micro email

encryption service you will be redirected to the Trend Micro Private Post website. There

you will be guided through the registration process to create an account with the

NHSmail encryption provider.

Registered recipients do not need to re-register to read subsequent encrypted email

messages sent from any NHSmail user.

If your email address is not correctly displayed, click the (Not your email?) link

1. Click Register

The Register Encryption Account screen will be displayed.

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2. Complete all fields and tick the agreement box.

• Enter and confirm your password – you will need to use this password to open encrypted

emails sent to you

• Select a security question and answer

• Select an Identification Word (that will appear on authentication screens)

• Type in the code displayed in the “CAPTCHA” image (the obscured code at the bottom

of the screen aimed at preventing spam and fake registrations)

• Tick the box to confirm agreement to the Licence and Terms

• Click Continue

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The Check your email to activate your account screen will be displayed.

3. A message prompts you to check your inbox for a registration confirmation email

message and follow instructions in the email message to confirm your encryption

account.

Registration confirmation email message

4. Click Close Page

This will complete your registration. Once you have successfully registered, you will be able

to open, read and download any attachments in encrypted NHSmail emails.

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Once you have completed registration, you are registered to receive encrypted email from

any NHSmail user and do not need to register again if another NHSmail user sends you an

encrypted email.

To read and reply to another encrypted message you just need to verify your identity using

the credentials you registered when you first signed up to the service. If you forget your

password, the system includes a self-service password reset feature.

If another organisation sends you an encrypted email using the same Trend Micro email

encryption, your Trend Micro account credentials can be used to decrypt these messages

too.

Keeping encrypted e-mails secure

Before sending an encrypted e-mail, you should ensure that you have verified the recipient,

particularly if it contains personal confidential data or corporate sensitive data.

Exchanging personal confidential data or corporate sensitive data should be done in

accordance with the Safe Haven procedure and additional guidance.

There are a number of attachment types which are not permitted to be sent via NHSmail,

these include .exe files. If a non-permitted attachment is detected it will automatically be

removed.

Blocked file extensions and attachments

To prevent inappropriate material being sent via NHSmail there are a number of attachments

that are blocked from the service. Please see the following document for a list of file types

that are

blocked: http://www.mansfieldandashfieldccg.nhs.uk/images/i/Governanceandpolicy/NHSma

il%20blocked%20and%20allowed%20attachments%20Dec%2020131.pdf

For further information contact the NHSmail helpdesk on 0333 200 1133 or e-

mail helpdesk@nhs.net. The helpdesk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the maximum number of email addresses that can be included on a reply to an encrypted email or when the email is forwarded?

A: You can reply to, or forward the encrypted email to a maximum of 200 recipients.

Q: If I want to forward an encrypted email I’ve received to someone else, will the email remain encrypted?

A: Yes. Any recipient added will receive the message securely (encrypted).

Q: Is message tracking (e.g. delivery or read receipts) available on encrypted emails?

No. Email delivery over the Internet has no guarantees that a message will reach its

intended recipient as Internet email can be silently lost.

Q: What is the maximum attachment size I can send on encrypted email replies / forwards? A: 20Mb.

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Adding your NHSmail inbox into your Outlook inbox and how to switch

between email accounts

1. Open Microsoft Outlook

2. Click on ‘file’

3. Click on ‘add account’

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4. Enter your name, your NHSmail email address, your password for NHSmail and

then re-enter your password for NHSmail. Click on ‘next’.

5. Set up is now complete. Click on ‘finish’.

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How to switch between email accounts

1. Click on ‘new email’

2. Select the email address you wish to send the data from.

For information

If you are unsure whether an individual has an NHSmail account you can use the

search facility. Click on ‘to’.

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You can search by individual organisations i.e. NHS Mansfield and Ashfield CCG

Or any other organisation in England i.e. NHS Rushcliffe CCG

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Distribution lists

M&A and N&S now have distribution lists in Microsoft Outlook

1. Click on ‘new email’

2. Click on ‘To’

3. Type in either ‘all mansfield’ or ‘all newark’

4. Double click on the organisation(s) you require. Click ‘ok’.

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You will then be able to select which e-mail address you can send the information from.

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