Enforcing secure email using message classification

Message classification allows your organization to specify and enforce secure email policies and add visual markings to email messages on iOS and Android devices. You can use BlackBerry UEM to provide iOS and Android device users with similar options for message classification that you make available on their computer email applications. You can define the following rules to apply to outgoing messages, based on the messages' classifications:
  • Add a label to identify the message classification (for example, Confidential)
  • Add a visual marker to the end of the subject line (for example, [C])
  • Add text to the beginning or end of the body of an email (for example, This message has been classified as Confidential)
  • Set S/MIME or PGP options (for example, sign and encrypt)
  • Set a default classification

For iOS and Android devices, you can use message classification to require users to sign, encrypt, or sign and encrypt email messages, or add visual markings to email messages that they send from their devices. You can use email profiles to specify message classification configuration files (with .json file name extensions) to send to users’ devices. When users either reply to email messages that have message classification set or compose secure email messages, the message classification configuration determines the classification rules that devices must enforce on outgoing messages.

The message protection options on a device are limited to the types of encryption and digital signing that are permitted on the device. When a user applies a message classification to an email message on a device, the user must select one type of message protection that the message classification permits, or accept the default type of message protection. If a user selects a message classification that requires signing, encrypting, or signing and encrypting of the email message, and the device does not have S/MIME or PGP configured, the user cannot send the email message.

S/MIME and PGP settings take precedence over message classification. Users can raise, but not lower, the message classification levels on their devices. The message classification levels are determined by the secure email rules of each classification.

When message classification is enabled, users cannot use the BlackBerry Assistant to send email messages from their devices.

You can configure message classification using the appropriate email profile settings.