How do email security solutions handle encrypted emails?

Email security solutions handle encrypted emails by inspecting them for threats. This is crucial because, while encryption secures the content of an email from unauthorized access, it does not inherently protect it from other types of threats, such as malware or phishing.

When an email is encrypted, security solutions utilize various methods to analyze the metadata and any attachments without compromising the encryption itself. This ensures that potential threats can be identified and neutralized before the email reaches the recipient's inbox. Effective email security solutions must balance the need for encrypted communication with the necessity of safeguarding users against harmful content, which is why inspection is a central feature of these systems.

Other methods, such as discarding encrypted emails, preventing delivery, or forwarding them to spam folders, would undermine the purpose of secure communication and could hinder legitimate business processes. Therefore, the ability to inspect encrypted emails while maintaining security and privacy is pivotal in the context of email security solutions.