The Challenge
- The Wrekin Housing Group’s previous encryption solution was cumbersome, requiring users to manually encrypt documents and share passwords separately.
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Lack of visibility into email encryption usage meant security compliance relied on assumptions rather than data.
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Employees were often unaware when they were sending sensitive data, increasing security risks.
Solution
- Zivver provides a seamless, one-click encryption option with built-in authentication, simplifying secure email communication.
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Zivver’s automated alerts and business rules proactively notify users, reinforcing security awareness and best practices.
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Zivver’s reporting suite offers full transparency, allowing The Wrekin Housing Group to track email security and compliance.
The Wrekin Housing Group provide nearly 14,000 homes for affordable rent across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Telford & Wrekin. As part of their commitment to delivering quality services and homes to their customers, the organization is dedicated to data protection and meeting compliance.
We spoke to Danny Rushton, Infrastructure Manager, and Matt Bailey, ICT Infrastructure Specialist, about how the organization uses Zivver to protect sensitive emails:
Replacing clunky workflows
“Our old encryption solution was clunky.” Says Danny. “Our team regularly engage with central and local government organizatons, such as the Department for Works and Pension and local councils. We need sensitive emails to be sent securely but not at the detriment of usability for our staff or recipients. Historically, users had to manually encrypt documents and attach it to an email, send it, and then contact the recipient to confirm the password to access it. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal.”
“The other issue we needed to solve was visibility. We didn't know how many people were encrypting emails; it was a case of no news is good news, and we had to hope and assume people were doing it. However, because the process was manual and time-consuming, we were under no illusion that people were likely bypassing the encryption protocol to send emails quickly and easily. That was our other priority; we had to make it easier for staff to encrypt emails and therefore make doing the right and secure thing appealing to them.”
Making email security simple
“Zivver stood out to us because of how user-friendly it is. It goes beyond providing a one-click encryption option.” Says Danny. “The two-factor authentication process is easy for staff and recipients; accessing sensitive emails sent securely with Zivver is very easy.”
“Compared to alternative secure email solutions on the market, Zivver’s integration with Outlook is visually better. It blends into Outlook and looks slicker. Zivver’s notifications are far more evident and powerful. Plus, Zivver’s price point was also more attractive for us.”
Building better security awareness
“Zivver has supported us with a culture change, by reinforcing to employees when to encrypt their emails.” Matt explains. “People might not necessarily realise what they’re sending is sensitive. Zivver detects sensitive data and alerts them. This automation is a key factor for us, it empowers people to consider what they’re sending. In this sense, Zivver plays an important role in improving security awareness across the organization. The notifications to sensitive data are an effective tap on the shoulder, alerting them when to encrypt emails before sending.”
Danny discusses how Zivver supports the organization in meeting their compliance responsibilities: “We’ve had near misses on the GDPR front where we’ve had to ring people and ask them to delete emails from their inboxes. But we didn’t always necessarily have evidence that the person hadn’t opened it, accessed it, forwarded or printed it. The reporting suite in Zivver provides a transparent overview of an email’s journey, meaning we can see whether it has been accessed. If an email is sent in error, we can see that it hasn’t been opened yet and that guarantees an incident hasn’t occurred, because it was successfully recalled. This audit trail is vital.”
“Zivver serves as ongoing training from a compliance perspective,” explains Matt. “While we conduct regular GDPR refreshers, people forget things over time. Having real-time security alerts embedded in their workflow is far more effective in reinforcing best practices. Having a solution that actively supports our compliance responsibilities is invaluable. We can monitor email tracking to identify if sensitive data has been sent to the wrong recipient. We also use multi-factor authentication (MFA) via text message, along with organizational codes, to protect emails from unauthorized access."
Seamless implementation and support
“Implementation was straightforward, and the Zivver team was fantastic to work with.” Says Matt. “We’ve never had such a well-thought-out deployment experience. It was clear that they genuinely cared about ensuring the product worked for us. They even came onsite to discuss implementation with us in person—something you rarely get. Their ongoing support has been excellent; no question is too small, and we always get a helpful response.”
Impact across the organization
Danny discusses feedback around Zivver from across the organization and beyond: “Over 1,100 staff have access to Zivver. Feedback is that Zivver is incredibly simple to use. Once they realized it was just one click to encrypt an email, they quickly adopted it. Our legal team relies on Zivver for subject access requests and secure communications with solicitors; payroll uses it for exchanges with payroll providers, and we regularly need to share sensitive information with our out-of-hours call centre, pertaining to tenant information. Additionally, we use it to securely share information with care providers, particularly for elderly residents relying on alarm or pendant services.”
“Zivver’s secure file transfer capabilities are another major benefit.” Says Matt. “Our development team frequently shares large, sensitive files with external agencies, and Zivver makes this seamless.”
“We’ve received positive feedback from external organizations that interact with Zivver-protected emails. In fact, our open rate of 94% which is excellent.” Says Matt. “Our local council also uses Zivver, and it makes secure communication significantly easier.”
“We would absolutely recommend Zivver to other housing associations, and I’ve already suggested it to contacts in other industries.” Says Danny. “It’s a user-friendly solution and the Zivver team is proactive and supportive.”
