Secure emails

Our standard secure email system is called Office 365 Message Encryption (OME).

If you have received an OME secure email from Suffolk County Council, you will need to verify your identity before you can read the message.

Depending on your email account, you may be able to:

• Sign in using a Microsoft account.
• Sign in using a Google account.
• Request a one-time passcode.

If you use a one-time passcode, the code will be sent to the same email address where you received the secure message.

Important: Keep the secure message webpage open while you check your email for the code. Do not select “Read the message” again. If you request a new code, use the most recent code you receive, as any previous code will no longer work.

For detailed step-by-step guidance, including information about using a one-time passcode, please read our guide to sending and receiving secure email using OME.

Our enhanced secure email system is called Transport Layer Security (TLS) and is a secure connection between two organisations.

Once a TLS connection is set up between the council and your organisation, secure emails can be sent just like normal emails because the connection between us is guaranteed secure. TLS is a government-recommended standard and is free to implement.

Read more in our guide on sending and receiving secure email using TLS (Word, 59KB).

Some partners of Suffolk County Council may be using the Egress Switch secure email system to send sensitive emails to the council.

In these cases, the council can accept these emails.

Please note that Suffolk County Council staff will have to use a separate Egress viewer to open the emails.