Microsoft has been promising to take measures against the ongoing allegations that the US government has been surreptitiously gathering the data of pretty much everyone. We won’t point fingers at any company being in the pocket of the NSA — that has largely been debunked, as the feds didn’t need permission or access to do what they wished.
Now the Redmond-based company is starting the first step in protecting its customers, rolling out encryption measures for messaging in Office 365. You can begin using this new functionality right away, but it requires a subscription to Windows Azure Rights Management. That’s included in E3 and E4 level subscriptions.
Microsoft promises this will provide customers “a comprehensive solution to help protect your internal and external communications”. It is an enhanced version of Exchange Hosted Encryption that adds some new features.
The company has posted a help page on its TechNet site in an effort to get everyone started. “Encryption is a vital part of our security and compliance vision for the future and an ongoing focus of our investment. Our announcement of Office 365 Message Encryption last November was positively received by many of you, and we look forward to your adoption of the service”, Microsoft’s Shobhit Sahay states.
