Introduction
We have introduced a more secure way to send personal or commercially sensitive information by email.
As a council, we must comply with data protection regulations and make sure that when we share personal or commercially sensitive information, it is done securely. Failure to do so can result in large fines and damage to our reputation.
Sending emails to you
We use Microsoft’s Outlook Message Encryption (OME) for sending sensitive information by email. If you receive an email that we have classified as personal or commercially sensitive, you will now need to access it using OME.
If you receive an email from us containing sensitive information, it will be protected by encryption.
The ‘Read the message’ link will open the email in the OME web portal.
You may get a message saying you have a protected email. To read it, you might need to sign in with your work or school account, or use a special code to prove who you are, especially if you are using a different email or program.
For more help, watch the tutorial video. It shows steps using a Gmail account, but they should be similar for other email providers. The video includes different platforms. You can find guidance for using a desktop computer at 00:39 and an Android mobile phone at 02:00.
Please see the guide below for more written step-by-step guidance.
If you are having trouble using the One Time Passcode (OTP) method to verify your identity, try these steps before contacting the sender.
- If you have not received the OTP email after requesting it, check your junk mailbox. If the OTP email isn’t in your inbox or junk mail, please speak to your technical support and check it has not been blocked.
- Use a Microsoft or Google account login as an alternative verification.
Sending emails to us
Personal data sent to us will be managed and protected in accordance with current data protection legislation.
To make sure your email arrives safely you may wish to consider the following measures:
- Double-check the email address you are sending to for spelling errors or typing mistakes. Our email addresses finish with @somerset.gov.uk
- Apply encryption if you can. We should be able to open most encrypted emails, but will let you know if we have any difficulties.
- Consider attaching sensitive information in a password-protected document. The password can then be communicated to the correct officer in a phone call. Do not send the password in the same or a separate email.
If you are unable to encrypt your email but need to send sensitive information, you can ask the person at the council to send you an encrypted email marked ‘Personal Data’. When you reply to this encrypted email, the protections will stay in place.