Master S/MIME and PGP. Automate Certificate Lifecycles in the Cloud.

PGP and S/MIME are proven standards. Managing their certificates and keys is not. Expired credentials, manual renewals, and conflicting directories quietly break secure email every day. Echoworx ends that drag—moving the full S/MIME and PGP lifecycle to the cloud and automating generation, retrieval, renewal, and rollover for the certificates that protect your external communications.

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This page is built for security architects, messaging architects, PKI teams, infrastructure leaders, and compliance stakeholders evaluating how to modernize certificate-based email encryption. It covers the architecture, the lifecycle automation, and the controls that make it work.

Cloud-Based S/MIME and PGP Management Matters

Certificate and key management is where secure email quietly fails. Handled manually—or scattered across aging key servers and inconsistent directories—every renewal, lookup, and rollover becomes a point of failure. The cost is real: stalled communications, security gaps, mounting tickets, and cryptographic control no one can fully account for.

Echoworx moves the entire lifecycle into the cloud.

illustration of Echoworx S/MIME and PGP mail flow

Overview of Echoworx’s S/MIME & PGP mail flow.

Certificate Lifecycle Automation

Manual key handling means delay, cost, and human error. Echoworx automates the full lifecycle—request, issuance, deployment, renewal, and rollover—so secure communications never stall.

  • Recipient certificate retrieval: Locate valid recipient certificates through external LDAP directory lookups.
  • On-demand sender keys: When a sender lacks a usable key, Echoworx generates one and signs outbound messages with a key tied to the sender’s address. An enterprise-level domain key serves as fallback.
  • Automatic renewal: For supported integrations, employee certificates regenerate before expiry, keeping a valid credential ready and preventing interruptions.
  • Migration import: Import existing certificates and keypairs to consolidate certificate-based activity on one platform.

Lifecycle events become automated, predictable, and auditable—not manual tasks waiting to fail.

S/MIME Architecture

Large-scale, automated S/MIME provisioning across global recipients—without the renewal nightmare.

  • Recipient handling: Retrieve certificates via LDAP lookup, let recipients upload their own x509 certificate through the portal, or let them generate a self-signed S/MIME certificate when they hold none.
  • Trusted roots on demand: Native integration with DigiCert, SwissSign, and your internal AWS Private CA generates trusted credentials the moment a key is needed.
  • Signed-only messages: Digitally sign outbound messages with S/MIME without encryption, using x509 certificates and controlled entirely through policy. Multiple signing options give you precise control over when and how messages are signed.
  • Inbound coverage: Inbound S/MIME messages are decrypted with private keys stored securely in the platform, with branded headers and footers applied.
  • Signature verification: Both opaque-signed and clear-signed messages are supported, with a comprehensive verification report to defend against inbound threats.

PGP Architecture

Legacy PGP is heavy to run and hard to maintain. Echoworx brings it into the cloud and removes the burden—without disrupting the partner networks you rely on.

  • Centralized key handling: Retrieve recipient keys via LDAP lookup, generate sender key pairs on the fly, or let recipients upload their own public keys.
  • Sender key delivery: Recipients of a PGP-encrypted message also receive the sender’s public key as an attachment, keeping exchanges self-contained.
  • Signed-only messages: Digitally sign outbound messages with PGP without encryption, configurable entirely through policy settings. PGP sign-only support and multiple signing options give you precise control over when and how messages are signed.
  • Inbound decryption: Inbound PGP messages are decrypted with private keys stored securely in the platform.
  • Clean migration: Import existing PGP keys to retire in-house servers and consolidate all certificate-based activity under one platform.
Line drawing diagram illustrating the mail flow using PGP as a secure email delivery option with Echoworx email encryption

Echoworx moves PGP certificate management to the cloud.

Sovereignty and Key Control

Sovereignty matters most when sensitive data leaves the enterprise. Echoworx gives you the controls to secure regulated communications, prove your posture, and manage certificate use with precision.

Manage Your Own Key (MYOK)

Retain absolute ownership of your encryption keys. MYOK is backed by FIPS 140-3 validated AWS KMS hardware, with AWS Hardware Security Modules compliant to FIPS PUB 140-3 Level 3. You create, rotate, and automate keys under your own governance, and your cryptographic material never leaves your control unencrypted.

Control stays yours. The operational burden does not.

AWS Private CA Alignment

For enterprises deepening their AWS relationship, Echoworx integrates directly with your internal AWS Private CA. You issue user certificates from your own managed Certificate Authority while Echoworx securely connects to generate requests, retrieve signed certificates, and deploy them.

Issuance stays under your control. The manual workflow disappears. The economics improve.

Tenant Segregation and Directory Control

Architecture-level isolation keeps the right keys in the right place.

  • Per-tenant certificate segregation: S/MIME and PGP certificates are segregated on a strict per-tenant basis. Your public keys are yours alone—no “wrong key” errors interrupting high-stakes exchanges.
  • Granular LDAP directory control: Enable or disable specific directories to control exactly where the system searches for recipient certificates, sharpening both performance and security.

Centralized Administration and Policy Enforcement

One console. One policy. Consistent governance.

  • Centralized configuration: Manage certificates, keys, and delivery rules from a single console that integrates with your identity providers.
  • Policy-driven routing: Sender identity, recipient domain, data classification, and content drive the cryptographic path automatically. You define the rules; the platform executes them.
  • Consistent governance: Policy applies uniformly across high-volume external interactions, so protection never depends on a manual step.
Screen shot listing Echoworx's Digital Signature signing modes

Echoworx’s digital signature signing modes.

Where Certificate Delivery Fits

Certificate encryption is one path among several. Echoworx selects the right method per message and recipient, governed by one consistent policy.

  • Certificate-based delivery: S/MIME and PGP for regulated, structured exchanges.
  • TLS with intelligent fallback: TLS validity is verified on the fly. If a domain is ineligible, the platform pivots automatically to the Web Portal or encrypted PDF—delivery never fails, data is never exposed.
  • Secure Web Portal: A controlled, trackable environment for recipients without certificate infrastructure, with branded, localized access.

One policy governs every path, keeping the recipient experience consistent and the security posture intact.

Auditability and Governance

You must prove control, not just claim it. Echoworx logs key generation, certificate issuance, policy triggers, and delivery states across encrypted communications. That visibility supports audit readiness, simplifies reporting, and reinforces DORA, NIS2, and GDPR—where the burden of proof matters as much as the control.

Integration and Deployment Fit

Echoworx deploys without local software or heavy hardware appliances, so the footprint stays light and the architecture review stays clean.

  • Mail integration: Connect through standard SMTP routing alongside Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or existing secure email gateways. Inbound decryption uses gateway rules to route encrypted messages to Echoworx.
  • Identity integration: Align with your identity providers through SAML and OpenID Connect for governed administrator and recipient access.
  • Cloud-native footprint: A 100% AWS deployment and qualified AWS software status give architecture and security teams a clear basis for review and approval.

Before you start: Confirm your gateway routing rules and the LDAP directories you intend to enable, so recipient lookups and inbound decryption work as expected from day one.

Modernize Certificate and Key Management with the Same Discipline.

Do not let secure communication trail the infrastructure it protects. As you migrate to the cloud, simplify hybrid architecture, and consolidate external communication controls, modernize certificate and key management in the same motion. Echoworx helps align encryption, policy, administration, and control with the broader agenda driving resilience, simplification, and transformation projects.

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