MED OIT has enabled a setting on our Ricoh Copiers to encrypt scans that are sent via email in an effort to align with University policy for protection of sensitive information and to further increase our security and privacy posture to ensure we meet the requirements of federal and state regulations.
Encrypted email scanning is disabled by default. In order to use the encrypted scan option, use the "Encrypted Email Scan" button on the homepage of the copier.
When you encrypt an email scan, you'll receive an email with the subject line "Scanned Item (encrypt)" and a PDF of your scan will be attached. You will need to download a special Adobe Acrobat plugin to be able to open the file. This plugin should be automatically installed on MED-issued computers. You may need to completely close Adobe Acrobat to allow the plugin to load upon next launch. If you are attempting to open the file on a non-MED device, just follow the prompts within the PDF to download and install the plugin.
The first time that you open an encrypted PDF after the plugin is installed, you will be prompted to sign into your account. Just use your FSU email account to sign in.
You may then be prompted to complete the sign in using the Office installer screen, just follow the steps to use your FSUID@fsu.edu email address to complete the sign-in process. If you've already been signed into your FSU email via Outlook, you may not be prompted for this screen.
Sharing Encrypted PDF Files
These scans are encrypted so that only the email address they were sent to originally may open them. If you intend to share these files with anyone else, whether by forwarding the email or uploading to a new location, you must remove the encryption first or else no one else will be able to view the file.
You can tell if your file is encrypted by opening it in Adobe Acobat and looking after the file name for (SECURED), like in the screenshot below.
To remove encryption:
- Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat
- Click the Lock icon in the top left
- Then click "Permission Details
- Select "No Security" from the "Security Method" dropdown menu
- Click OK and then re-save your file.
6. Select the protect icon that is shaped like a shield on the right side of the screen.
7. Then select remove hidden data in the top center of the screen.
8. On the left side of the screen a progress bar should show up finding hidden data. Once the bar is full and all hidden data has been found select the remove icon under the bar.
9. Next select the OK button in the center of the screen to confirm removing all hidden data.
10.Once the removal of the hidden data is done you will need to save the PDF in order to keep the changes and the PDF should be fully decrypted.
11. If after the last step the PDF is still encrypted, the select the Print Icon in the top right and change the printer to Microsoft Print to PDF.
When Should I Encrypt My Scan?
Any documents being scanned that contain data classified as Protected, according to FSU's Data Classification Guidelines must be encrypted if using scan to email. Public and Private data types do not need to be encrypted. If you have questions about what kind of data classification your document has, please enter an IT Service Request and our Security & Privacy team can advise you.