How to Encrypt S/MIME Email Messages

To send and receive encrypted S/MIME email messages, users need to follow these simple steps: 

1. Obtain digital certificates: Both the sender and recipient must acquire S/MIME certificates from a trusted certificate authority such IdenTrust. 
2. Install certificates: Users need to install these certificates on their email clients, such as Outlook or Gmail. 
3. Exchange public keys: The sender's email client needs access to the recipient's public key certificate, usually obtained from a directory or trusted source. 
4. Compose and encrypt: When writing an email, the sender chooses to encrypt the message using S/MIME. Their email client uses the recipient's public key to encrypt the content. 
5. Send the message: The encrypted email is sent through normal channels. Receive and decrypt: The recipient's email client uses their private key to decrypt the message upon arrival. 

6. Verify digital signatures: Recipients can also verify the sender's identity using the digital signature attached to the email. 
   
   It's important to note that both parties must have S/MIME set up for the encryption to work end-to-end. Additionally, organizations may need to configure their email servers and infrastructure to support S/MIME. 

   For ongoing use, once the initial setup is complete, users can typically enable S/MIME encryption for all outgoing messages or choose to encrypt individual emails as needed