About

There is a requirement in some HCC business units to exchange emails with partners in national and local government. Where these contain personal information or restricted level material, HM Government’s data security guidelines insist that they must be transmitted securely.

The GCSx Secure Email service has been developed to meet these needs:

• this is a chargeable service (see service catalogue)
• it can only be accessed only if you are on a Hampshire site through Hantsnet
• you will use a different password to your standard Hantsnet password.

Each user with a GCSx Secure Email account will have access to a 73mb mailbox and 20mb send/receive limit.

When to use

The GCSx connection will be used to transfer documents marked as restricted ie information or material which, if compromised, would be likely to:

• affect diplomatic relations adversely
• cause substantial distress to individuals
• make it more difficult to maintain the operational effectiveness or security of UK or allied forces
• cause financial loss or loss of earning potential to, or facilitate improper gain or advantage for, individuals or companies
• prejudice the investigation or facilitate the commission of crime
• breach proper undertakings to maintain the confidence of information provided by third parties
• impede the effective development or operation of government policies
• breach statutory restrictions on disclosure of information
• disadvantage government in commercial or policy negotiations with others
• undermine the proper management of the public sector and its operations.

If you create or handle restricted information:

• every page of the document is marked 'RESTRICTED' at top centre
• if stored in paper form, documents are kept in locked wooden or steel furniture
• if the document is ‘enveloped’ but not sent by post, use a single sealed envelope addressed to an individual by name or appointment - do not show any protective mark or descriptor other than 'Personal' if appropriate or 'Addressee Only'
• a document may be transmitted by approved courier
• if the document is sent by post, use a single envelope, fully addressed with no protective marking shown
• if the document is sent by email other than HCC Secure email, it must be encrypted using an approved encryption method - seek advice from your IT Security representative if you need to do this.

Material with higher classifications (CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and TOP SECRET) must not be sent across GCSx.

Log on

1. Log on to HantsAccess (nb. you cannot access GCSx Secure Email from Passport - only from HantsAccess on an HCC site)

2. Click on the Secure Email icon
   

3. The Microsoft Outlook Web App screen will be displayed
   

4. Select This is a public or shared computer or This is a private computer as appropriate

5. In User name, type in your Hantsnet ID

6. In Password type in your Secure Email password

7. Click Sign in.

Switch between Secure Email accounts

Once logged on, if you have access to more than one GCSx Secure email account, you can switch between the accounts.

1. Click on the drop down arrow next to the account ID you are logged into (top right)

2. An Open Other Mailbox window will be displayed

3. Type in the ID of the account you wish to view in the Select mailbox field and click Open

4. To return to the original Mailbox, repeat these steps again.

Changing password

Your GCSx Secure Email password is different to your Hantsnet password and should be changed every 3 months (the system will prompt you to do this).

You can however change your password at any time by clicking on Options then Change Your Password. You will be taken to a screen where you need to type in your current password then enter a new one twice.

When you choose a new password, make sure you follow the same rules that you use for selecting a Hantsnet password (see Hantsnet Password).

If you lock your account by entering incorrect information more than 3 times, you will need to contact the Help Desk (01962 847000) to raise a HEAT call. Your call will be passed on to the Security team to deal with.

Log off

Click on sign out in the top right of the screen.

Once signed out, you will receive confirmation on the screen and be advised to close your browser window to help protect your GCSx Secure Email account.

Read email

When you open GCSx Secure Email, you will see the default view which is very similar to standard Microsoft Outlook 2003.

View

Your inbox is displayed in the 'Conversation' view as the default.

If you would prefer to not to see the conversation view, click on the drop down arrow next to Conversations by Date and in the sub menu, remove the tick next to Conversation.

Emails can be sorted in the usual way - see menu options below.

You can also search for an email either using the Search Folders in the navigation pane or the Search Entire Mailbox field, by typing in key words and clicking on the magnifying glass icon.

Click once on any email to preview in reading pane, or double click to open fully. Once open for reading there will be several menu options along the top of the email:

Menu

Emails received display in exactly the same way as in Outlook 2003. Your menu options for dealing with messages are displayed along the top of the Inbox area.

Attachments

It is recommended that you do not save attachments. But if you do need to save an attachment which you have received, this can either be saved to your F drive or forwarded to your Hantsnet Outlook account.

Out of Office

If you are not available to read messages received in your GCSx Secure Email account (and it is not a shared account) you should put on an Out of Office message.

1. Click on Options, then See All Options

2. Click on Organize E-Mail and select Automatic Replies

3. Click on Send automatic replies, select your Start time and End time and type in the message you want to go out, if you also wish the message to go to people outside of HCC you need to select Send automatic reply messages to senders outside my organization and type in a further message for these people
   
   Tip: If you include a contact in your message to forward emails on to, this must be another person with a GCSx Secure Email account.

4. Click Save (bottom right) when everything is complete.
   Tip: You will not get a warning message about Out of Office being on, when you log in to Secure email - make sure you remember to go back into Automatic replies and select Don't send automatic replies.

Send email

1. Click on New then Message

2. A blank email will be displayed

3. Click on To: or the Address Book icon to display names
   
   NB. You will only see addresses for other Secure email users

4. Type in your email content as normal (see below for menu options)

5. If you want to attach a document you will only be able to do this from your F drive

6. The menu options while writing an email are very similar to Outlook 2003
   
   The standard formatting options are available below the subject field

7. When your email is complete click Send.

Each email sent will include a warning stating "All communications sent to or from Hampshire County Council may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation".

Signature

All emails should include a signature containing your location and contact details. To set up your signature:

1. Click on Options then See All Options
   

2. Click on Settings

3. In the E-Mail Signature field type in your signature, suggested format for email signature is:
   Your name
   Job Title - Team - Department
   Hampshire County Council, Full Address
   Full telephone number
   HPSN number or mobile number (if you have one)
   Email: your.name@hants.gov.uk
   www.hants.gov.uk

4. Click on Automatically include my signature on messages I send

5. Click on Save (bottom right).

Replying to emails

When you reply to an email, a copy of the sent email will only be saved into the GCSx Secure Email Sent folder (not in your own Sent folder as happens with normal shared Outlook accounts).

Forwarding emails

A Firewall will prevent users from forwarding incoming emails received from GCSx to outside the GCSx domain. You can only forward emails to the following domains:

• .gcsx.gov.uk
• .gsi.gov.uk
• .gsx.gov.uk
• .gse.gov.uk
• .gsisup.co.uk
• .pnn.gov.uk
• .pnn.police.uk
• .cjsm.net
• .cjsm.gov.uk
• .nhs.net
• .nhs.uk.

Calendar

Click on Calendar in the navigation panel on the left to open the Calendar.

Calendar in GCSx Secure Email looks very similar to Outlook 2003, but you will not be able to view your standard Hantsnet calendar entries while logged into Secure Email. The only entries you will be able to see are those which you have added while logged into Secure Email.

There are a several useful menu options for viewing your calendar:

Calendar settings

1. Click on Options then See All Options

2. Click on Settings on the left

3. Select Calendar
   

4. You now have several Calendar settings that you can change
   - Appearance: days to display, working hours, week numbers and show hours in 15 or 30 minute increments
   - Reminders: select whether and how to display appointments and meeting reminders
   - Automatic Processing: set up options for how meeting requests, responses and notifications are dealt with

5. Click on Save (bottom right) once you have made your changes.

Contacts

Click on Contacts on the left navigation menu to view.

You will only be able to see Contacts which have been set up your GCSx Secure Email account, not contacts you have set up in your Hantsnet account in Outlook 2003.

Click on a contact to view basic details on the right or double click to open and edit or delete contact or send an email to contact.

Tasks

Click on Tasks on the left navigation menu to view.

You will only be able to see Tasks which you have set up in your GCSx Secure Email account, not contacts you have set up in your Hantsnet account in Outlook 2003.

Click on a task to view details on the right, double click to open it and edit, mark complete, repeat or forward.

Options

Click on Options then See All Options.

All of the areas you can change settings for are displayed on the left, with a couple of shortcuts to popular areas on the right.

Account

Basic information about you, including:

• how you want your name displayed
• your email address
• work contact number
• mobile contact number.

Organize E-Mail

Groups

Join or leave a distribution list (group) or view information about groups you belong to.

Settings

Block or Allow

This section allows you to set up extra spam filters over and above the corporate spam filter. Useful if you are receiving a lot of spam messages which are not being caught by the corporate spam filters.