Updated: 2009-04-09

You have two main options for helping to protect messages in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 from unauthorized use, tampering, or change: 1) cryptographic messaging using the S/MIME standard, and 2) Information Rights Management (IRM). While both of these options can help protect messages your users send and receive, they work differently and are each best suited for different scenarios.

S/MIME is a standard for sending digitally signed and encrypted e-mail messages. Using S/MIME in Outlook is the preferred way to:

The biggest value in using S/MIME is when users send and receive e-mail messages outside corporate boundaries, where they are not protected by the corporate firewall.

Another feature that can help to protect messages in Outlook is IRM. IRM gives organizations and information workers greater control over sensitive information. IRM is the preferred way to help to:

The biggest value for IRM is within the corporation, where employees need to share information while maintaining some control over who has access to this information IRM is especially helpful in ensuring that this information does not leak outside the corporate firewall.

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