Secure Messaging - The Secure Messaging Portal

This page provides an overview of the Secure Messaging Portal, how to access, send and receive Secure Messages, and information on Monitoring Secure Messages. 

The Secure Messaging Portal 

The Secure Messaging Portal is your email client for any message sent through Mimecast's Secure Messaging application. This page contains instructions on accessing and using the Portal. The portals for both Secure Messaging and Secure Messaging - Lite are the same, with the exception that Secure Messaging allows the user to compose new secure messages to any internal user. 

Accessing the Secure Messaging Portal

Access to the Secure Messaging Portal is intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Login details should not be shared with other parties.

This article describes how users can access the Secure Messaging Portal. It applies to:

• • • Users who are a Mimecast customer.
    • Users who are not a Mimecast customer, but who receive a Secure Message notification.

Administrators may require recipients to add Mimecast's sending IP addresses to their whitelist to receive Secure Messaging emails. See the Data Centers & URLs page for further details. You must be logged on to Mimecaster Central to access this page.

Mimecast Customer Access

You can access the Secure Messaging Portal and send an outbound message by using the following steps:

1. Navigate to either the:

• • • Secure Messaging Portal URL for the region where your Mimecast account is hosted. See the Data Centers & URLs page for further details. You must be logged on to Mimecaster Central to access this page.
    • Custom URL provided by your administrator.

2. Enter your Email Address.
3. Click Next.
4. Select either the Cloud or Domain authentication method from the drop-down list. Ask your administrator which one you should use if you are unsure.
5. Enter your Password. The Secure Messaging Portal is displayed.

Inbound messages are not present in the Secure Messaging Portal. These are received on an individual basis and are retrieved using a unique URL. 

Non-Mimecast Customers

The Secure Messaging Portal allows recipients of a secure message to read it and respond to it. It requires users to log in with their email address and secure messaging password before any messages can be accessed. When a secure message is sent to you by a Mimecast user, you'll receive an email notification like the one shown below.

You can access the Secure Messaging Portal by using the following steps:

1. Click the Link in the notification message. The Secure Messaging Portal login dialog is displayed.
2. Enter your Email Address.
3. Click on the Next button.
4. Enter your Secure Messaging Portal Password.

If this is your first time logging in to the Secure Messaging Portal, see the First Time Users section below. If you already have login details for the Closed Circuit Messaging (CCM) Portal, these same details will work for the Secure Messaging Portal.

5. Click the Log In button. The Secure Messaging Portal is displayed.

First Time Users

If this is the first time you have accessed the Secure Messaging Portal, you will be notified that you have received a secure message in the format shown in the image below:

To retrieve this message, you will need to:

1. Click on the link in the notification email, and this redirects you to the Secure Messaging Portal.
2. You are instructed to create a new password. Ensure the new password meets Mimecast’s requirements, displayed below the Reset Password fields. 

• • A green tick means the criteria are met.
  • A red cross means the criteria have not been met and need to be corrected.

For further information on configuring password complexity, see the Mimecast Account Settings page.

3. Create a new password and click Confirm.
4. Log in again: enter your email address and password and click Log In.

If accessing the Secure Messaging Portal on a tablet using iOS12 or iOS13, you may experience issues when using a temporary password that has expired. To prevent this happening, consider the following:

• The password reset emails expire after 24 hours.
• Disable the “Request Desktop Site” option Safari’s settings. See the Force Safari to use Desktop View by Default for Specific Sites page on the Gadget Hacks website.
• You can access the Secure Messaging Portal on a laptop.

Using The Portal

Once you are able to successfully access the Secure Messaging Portal, you are able to access, send and manage Secure Messages. The information below lists and explains how to use each of the available functions.

Available Functions

The Secure Messaging Portal is the primary application for accessing secure messages. Whilst in the portal, users can perform the following tasks:

• View all Secure Messages received and sent.
• Reply to messages.
• Mark messages as read/unread.
• Delete messages from Inbox.
• Search their Secure Messaging mailbox.
• Compose a new Secure Message.
• Reply to Secure Messages.
• Print messages.
• Set personal preferences, which are:
  • Preferred date, time, and the first day of the week format.
  • Signature to be appended to Secure Messages sent from the Portal.

The availability of the user actions mentioned above is dependent on the Secure Messaging settings
for your account.

Your Secure Messaging inbox displays messages from the previous 60 days. Access to additional messages is available by using the search functionality as required.

With a message open, you can perform various actions from the message's toolbar. While all the possible actions are listed below, some may be restricted by the sender of the secure message. See the individual actions below for full details.

Reading a Secure Message

You can read a Secure Message by using the following steps:

1. Select a Folder. The Inbox folder is selected by default. Your secure messages are displayed.
2. Click on a Secure Message. The message contents are displayed.

Replying to a Secure Message

Replying to a secure message is unavailable if the sender has specified this as a restricted action when creating it.

You can reply to a Secure Message by using the following steps:

1. Either click on the Reply or Reply All button
2. Type your response.
3. Click the Attach button to add any attachments. A total file size limit of 50 MB is allowed. If the attached file size exceeds this limit, the following error is displayed:
   
   
   
4. Click the Send button.

Creating a Secure Message to Another User

This option is not available to all users.

This capability is not available where Secure Messaging-Lite is deployed.

You can send a Secure Message to another user, by using the following steps:

1. Click the Compose button.
2. Specify the Recipients by either clicking the: 

• • • • To field to display a list of contacts from which you can select one.
      •  icon to display a list of contacts from which you can:
        • • Add more than one.
          • Add contacts to either the To or CC list.
          • Filter the contacts displayed by your most used contacts or your global addresses.

3. Type your secure message.
4. Click the Attach button to add any attachments. A total file size limit of 50 MB is allowed. If the attached file size exceeds this limit, the following error is displayed:
   
   
   
5. Click the Send button. The Secure Messaging Options dialog is displayed.
6. Select one of the following options:

Option	Description
Request Read Receipt	A notification email is sent to you when the recipient has opened your secure message.
Restricted - No Print, No Reply	The secure message is delivered, but the recipient is unable to reply to it or print it.
Restricted - No Print	The secure message is delivered, but the recipient cannot print it.
Expire Message in 1 / 7 / 30 Days	The secure message expires after the specified time scale. Once it expires, you cannot respond to the message. Other actions (e.g., print, delete) are available.

7. Click the Send button.

Deleting a Secure Message

You can delete a Secure Message by using the following steps:

1. Click the Delete Icon with the message displayed. A confirmation message is displayed.
2. Click the OK button. The secure message is deleted.

Printing a Secure Message

Printing a secure message will be unavailable if the sender has specified this as a restricted action when creating it.

You can print a Secure Message by using the following steps:

1. Click the Print Icon with the message displayed. A printable version of the message is displayed in a new browser tab.
2. Change the Printer Properties as required.
3. Click the Print button. The message is sent to your printer.
4. Close the browser tab displaying the printable version.

Viewing a Message in a New Tab

You can display a Secure Message in a new browser tab by clicking the Cross Hatch Icon with the message displayed.

Marking a Secure Message as Read / Unread

You can mark a Secure Message as read/unread by using the following steps:

1. Click the Mark button with the message displayed. A pop-up menu is displayed.
2. Click either:

• • • Mark as Read
    • Mark as Unread

Monitoring Secure Messages

This information describes how you can display the details of messages that have been sent or received via Secure Messaging. This applies to Administrators where Secure Messaging is enabled on their account.

You can access a list of sent or received Secure Messages by using the following steps:

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Navigate to Email Delivery | Secure Messaging.
3. The list of messages is displayed. If a policy/definition triggered the secure message, this is displayed.

Viewing a Log File

You can view a log file, by using the following steps:

1. Click on the  icon to the right of the required log file.
2. Click on the View menu item. The log file's details are displayed in a pop-out panel.
3. To close the log file view, either: 

• • • • Click the X icon in the top right-hand corner of the pop-out panel.
      • Click outside of the pop-out panel.

Filtering the Log Files

You can filter the messages displayed in a number of ways. For example by Searching / Filtering the records. One of the filtering methods is via the Status column.

You can filter on the status, by using the following steps:

1. Click on the Down Arrow to the right of the Status field:
2. Select one or more of the following statuses: 

• • • Sent: Lists all secure messages that have been sent, but not yet read.
    • Read: Lists all secure messages that have been sent and read.
    • Recalled: Lists all secure messages that have been sent, but recalled.
    • Extended: Lists all secure messages that have been, not yet read, and have had their expiry date extended.

3. Click on the Apply button.

Reports

Below is an overview of a report created for Mimecast's Secure Messaging Service. This report records the number and direction of Mimecast Secure Messages processed per day. For more information on Secure Email reports, see  Account Assessment Report - Secure Email.

At the top of the bar chart is the total number of messages processed.

The bar chart shows the number of delivered messages paired with the corresponding day along the bottom.