Top 15 Best Outlook Add-Ins for Enhanced Data Privacy & Security

In an era where email remains both the essential tool for business communication and a prime target for cybercriminals, Outlook users face unprecedented security challenges.

While Microsoft’s native protections offer basic safeguards, they fall dangerously short against today’s sophisticated phishing schemes, AI-powered BEC attacks, and regulatory compliance demands.

The solution? Specialized security add-ins that transform Outlook from a vulnerability into a fortified communications center.

The Importance of Email Security in Outlook

Email is one of the main channels of business correspondence and, together with it, one of the most vulnerable points to cyberattacks. Confidential documents, logins, financial information, and personal data pass through Microsoft Outlook.

If email is not well secured, it can lead to data breaches, phishing attacks, malware infections, and regulatory violations (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, etc.). That’s why it’s important to use additional security tools right inside Outlook.

Why Outlook add-in can significantly improve data security

Add-ins are extensions that add new features to Outlook, including those related to security. Thanks to their integration, they protect Outlook users when they interact with the email, which is critical because most errors occur when they interact with the content. They work right in the mail interface and can:

• Automatically check emails for phishing and malicious links
• Encrypt messages and attachments
• Prevent confidential emails from being forwarded
• Track who opened an email and when
• Integrate with DLP systems (data loss prevention)

Advantages of using add-ins

Modern Outlook add-ins provide comprehensive email protection while working as discreetly and efficiently as possible. The main advantage is that they increase the level of security without the need for additional actions on the part of users.

Add-ins function in the background, automatically applying the specified security policies, which significantly reduces the risks associated with human error.

The monitoring and reporting function is equally important. The IT department gets full access to detailed logs, can monitor email security in real-time, and respond quickly to potential threats.

An additional advantage is the ability to integrate with other company security systems. The add-ins can work in conjunction with corporate anti-viruses, SIEM systems, identification tools, and other information security tools, creating a unified protective circuit.

How to Choose the Best Outlook Add-Ins for Security?

When choosing security add-ins for Outlook, there are several critical factors you should consider. Modern security systems must provide complete data protection while remaining easy to connect and easy to use.

1. Protection against phishing and spam

A reliable add-in should be like an attentive security guard – spotting suspicious emails at a glance: fake addresses, dangerous links and trap attachments. The best solutions use artificial intelligence and constantly updated threat intelligence databases to intercept threats before they reach your inbox.

2. Encryption and secure data storage

High-quality add-ins offer automatic or manual encryption of emails and attachments. This is especially important for transmitting sensitive information – especially in legal, finance, and HR departments. It’s also worth paying attention to where and how the data is stored (on devices, in the cloud, with backup and access protection).

3. Easy integration and customization

The add-in should install quickly and seamlessly on both local versions of Outlook and Outlook 365. It is convenient if there is centralized management, policy templates, and AD/SSO (single sign-on) support so that administrators and users are not overloaded.

4. User experience and feedback

Security should not interfere with your work. Good add-ins work unobtrusively, with a clear interface and minimal clicks. Pay attention to user reviews and ratings on Microsoft AppSource – this is often the most honest indicator of reliability and usability.

Top 15 Outlook Add-Ins for Data Privacy & Security

In today’s world of threats, Outlook’s built-ins defenses can’t stop sophisticated phishing, data breaches, or regulatory violations. That’s why we’ve compiled a selection of 15 specialized add-ins that will keep you safe when working with email.

Microsoft Purview Message Encryption — Best for Enterprise-Grade Email Encryption

Microsoft’s built-in email security solution for Outlook provides end-to-end encryption for emails and attachments. It is fully integrated with Office 365 and Azure, enabling secure messaging both inside and outside your organization.

Key Features:

• Automatic and manual encryption of emails
• Attachment protection (files, PDF, images)
• Support for DLP policies (leak prevention)
• GDPR, HIPAA, FZ-152 compliant
• Ability to retract sent messages

Pros: Deep integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, centralized management, compliance with strict standards

Cons: Requires Microsoft 365 E5 subscription or separate license, difficult to configure for smaller companies

Best For: Large enterprises and government agencies that need secure encryption with legal support.

Pricing: Paid (Included in Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5 or as a separate service).

Virtru Email Encryption

Virtru provides a simple yet powerful solution for end-to-end encryption of emails and attachments directly in Outlook. It allows users to protect sensitive data without complicated settings while maintaining the convenience of working with your mail.

Key Features:

• Easy encryption of emails and attachments without technical skills
• Ability to retract sent emails or restrict their forwarding
• Compliant with GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and other requirements
• Ability to read encrypted emails without installing additional software
• Automatic encryption by keyword or data type

Pros: Intuitive interface, cross-platform support (Outlook, Gmail, mobile devices), ability to retract emails

Cons: Requires subscription for full functionality

Best For: Small and medium-sized businesses, healthcare providers, lawyers, and freelancers who need simple but reliable email protection.

Pricing: Free trial, paid plans starting at $5 per month.

Mimecast Secure Email Gateway

Mimecast provides a cloud-based email security service that filters incoming and outgoing email messages, blocking spam, phishing, viruses, and targeted attacks before they reach users’ inboxes.

Key Features:

• Combines antivirus, antispam, and phishing protection
• Detects BEC (Business Email Compromise) and other sophisticated threats
• Automatically backs up all correspondence
• Prevents confidential data leaks
• Analyzes files and links in a sandbox before emails are delivered

Pros: Highly effective against complex threats, cloud-based architecture, integration with Office 365

Cons: Difficult to configure, requires administrator training, high cost

Best For: Large enterprises and organizations that handle confidential data and need comprehensive protection against advanced threats.

Pricing: Paid, the cost depends on the number of users and selected features.

Proofpoint Email Protection

Proofpoint provides comprehensive enterprise email protection against phishing, targeted attacks (BEC), and malicious attachments using artificial intelligence and behavioral analysis.

Key Features:

• Detects spoofed domains and social engineering
• Blocks executive spoofing attacks
• Inspects files in an isolated environment
• DLP for email
• Analyzes and intercepts malicious links in real time

Pros: Highly accurate threat detection, integration with SIEM systems, deep analytics

Cons: Requires policy customization, premium price

Best For: Large businesses and government agencies where protection against targeted attacks and data breaches is critical.

Pricing: Paid (requested individually).

Cisco Secure Email

Cisco Secure Email (formerly Cisco Email Security) protects corporate email from threats including phishing, spam, viruses, and targeted attacks using cloud and hybrid technologies.

Key Features:

• Real-time analysis of attachments and links
• Isolated environment for detailed analysis of suspicious files
• Protection based on a global threat database
• DLP and encryption
• Integration with Cisco SecureX – a single security platform

Pros: Powerful protection against complex threats, integration with Cisco ecosystem, high scalability

Cons: Difficulty of initial configuration, requires administrator qualification

Best For: Large enterprises and organizations already using Cisco products, or those who need comprehensive email security in the cloud.

Pricing: Paid, the cost depends on the number of users and options selected.

Barracuda Email Security Gateway

Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a comprehensive solution to protect corporate email from spam, phishing, viruses, and targeted attacks (BEC) with multi-level filtering and AI analysis.

Key Features:

• Detecting Fake Emails and CEO Fraud
• Zero Threat Protection – Sandbox for attachment analysis
• DLP and Encryption
• Mail backup
• Office 365 integration – cloud and hybrid support

Pros: Easy to deploy, automatic protection updates, built-in archiving

Cons: Limited analytics compared to competitors

Best For: Medium and large businesses, especially companies with hybrid infrastructure (Office 365 + on-premises servers).

Pricing: Paid (from $3/user per month).

Zix Email Encryption

Zix provides automatic email encryption to comply with industry standards (HIPAA, GDPR), protecting sensitive data in transit.

Key Features:

• Automatic encryption based on DLP policies
• HIPAA/GDPR support for regulated industries
• Secure portal for external recipients
• Tracking emails with read confirmation
• Integration with Outlook and mobile clients

Pros: Ease of use, focus on compliance, reliable delivery

Cons: Basic functionality, limited analytics

Best For: Medical institutions, financial organizations, and government agencies that require compliance.

Pricing: Paid (price on request).

Egress Prevent

Egress Prevent uses artificial intelligence to prevent sensitive data leaks via email by automatically analyzing email content and user behavior.

Key Features:

• AI analysis identifies leakage risks
• Takes into account user behavior and correspondence content
• Automatic encryption
• Alerts on potential DLP violations
• Integration with Outlook and Office 365

Pros: Intelligent protection without false alarms, user-friendly interface, minimal impact on workflow

Cons: High cost, requires employee training

Best For: Law firms, financial institutions, and corporations dealing with highly sensitive data.

Pricing: Paid (price on request).

Trend Micro Email Security

Trend Micro Email Security is a cloud-based solution to protect corporate email from spam, phishing, viruses, and targeted attacks with multi-level filtering and behavioral analysis.

Key Features:

• Block phishing, BEC attacks and ransomware
• Analyze suspicious files in an isolated environment
• AI-antispam – filter junk mail
• Real-time link verification
• Office 365 integration – full support for Microsoft’s cloud suite

Pros: Easy deployment, effective protection against new threats, user-friendly control panel

Cons: Limited customization options, average performance under heavy loads

Best For: Medium-sized businesses and companies using cloud services (especially Office 365) that need reliable protection without complex customizations.

Pricing: Paid (starting at $5 per user per month).

Mailock Secure Email

Mailock provides a simple solution for secure correspondence with external recipients, allowing you to send encrypted emails directly from Outlook without complicated settings.

Key Features:

• One-time passwords – recipients open emails through a secure portal
• Retraction of sent emails
• Notifications when emails are viewed
• GDPR-compliant – complies with personal data protection requirements
• Outlook integration

Pros: Easy to use, does not require software installation at the recipient, suitable for one-off shipments

Cons: Limited functionality for internal correspondence, basic interface

Best For: Companies that need to quickly organize GDPR-compliant correspondence with clients and partners (law firms, HR departments, small businesses).

Pricing: Paid (from £3 per user per month).

PreVeil End-to-End Encryption

PreVeil provides end-to-end encryption of corporate correspondence using state-secret level algorithms, protecting data even from insider threats.

Key Features:

• AES-256 encryption
• Zero-Knowledge architecture – even PreVeil can’t access your data
• Protection against BEC attacks
• Works on PCs, mobile devices, and in the browser
• Simple key management – no complex PKI infrastructures required

Pros: Maximum security, user-friendly, protection from insider threats

Cons: Limited integration with third-party services, requires adaptation of workflows

Best For: Organizations with high-security requirements: defense enterprises, law firms, and financial institutions.

Pricing: Paid (from $10 per user per month).

Check Point Harmony Email & Office

Check Point is a comprehensive protection of cloud-based office services (Office 365, Gmail) from phishing, BEC attacks, and data leaks with a single management console.

Key Features:

• AI detection of CEO Fraud and spoofed domains
• File analysis in an isolated environment
• DLP for cloud services – control data in Outlook and Teams
• Automatically remove malicious links from emails
• Unified protection – mail, files, and chats in one solution

Pros: Deep integration with Office 365/G Suite, automatic email response to threats

Cons: Requires policy customization, premium price

Best For: Corporations that use cloud-based office suites and need centralized communications security.

Pricing: Paid (price on request).

Tessian Human Layer Security

Proofpoint uses artificial intelligence to analyze user behavior and prevent errors that lead to data breaches or phishing attacks.

Key Features:

• AI protection alerts you if you are misdirected
• Detects suspicious employee behavior
• Blocks dangerous emails before they are sent
• Detects abnormalities in communications
• Employee training – interactive risk alerts

Pros: Minimizes human error, automatic protection without rules

Cons: Requires a “learning” period for the system, high cost

Best For: Large companies with high-risk operations (finance, lawyers, pharma) where the human factor is the main vulnerability.

Pricing: Paid (price on request).

IRONSCALES Anti-Phishing

IRONSCALES combines artificial intelligence and crowdsourced data to automatically detect and block phishing attacks in real-time.

Key Features:

• Self-learning protection system
• Automatic removal of phishing emails from inboxes
• Report Phishing button – employees help to improve protection
• Simulated attacks – testing the vulnerability of staff
• Integration with Outlook/Office 365

Pros: Fast deployment, automatic adaptation to new threats

Cons: Limited functionality against BEC attacks

Best For: Medium and large businesses where phishing is a major threat (retail, education, public sector).

Pricing: Paid (from $3.75/user/month).

SpamTitan Email Security

SpamTitan provides cloud and on-premises solutions for filtering spam, viruses, and phishing attacks with simple management and high accuracy of threat detection.

Key Features:

• Analyze incoming/outgoing emails
• Blocking fake sites and emails
• Customize filtering rules to meet business needs
• Real-time threat monitoring
• Office 365 support – cloud and hybrid protection

Pros: Low cost, easy deployment, high filtering accuracy

Cons: Limited functionality against sophisticated BEC attacks

Best For: Small and medium-sized businesses, schools, and non-profit organizations that need reliable protection without complex customizations.

Pricing: Paid (from $2.50 per user per month).

Comparison Table: Best Outlook Add-Ins for Security

Find the perfect security add-ins for Outlook: the table shows the top 5 solutions with a comparison of encryption, anti-phishing, DLP, and price categories for different business needs.

A comparison of the best Outlook security add-ins.

Why Standard Security Features Aren’t Enough

Today’s email threats have become so sophisticated that Outlook’s built-in defenses are no longer enough. Let’s find out why.

Standard Outlook offers basic security features: a simple anti-spam filter, manual encryption capability, and minimal virus protection. However, these tools have serious limits:

1. The anti-phishing filter often misses targeted attacks, especially when attackers use exact copies of corporate email addresses, fake domains with letter substitutions (“amaz0n.com” with a zero instead of “o”), or even psychological techniques (“urgently pay the bill from the management”).
2. Built-in encryption requires manual activation for each email. But as practice shows, employees often forget to activate the protection, may make a mistake when setting it up, or lose access keys.
3. There is no data leakage protection (DLP). This means that an employee can accidentally send a customer database to an unauthorized person, forward a financial report to a personal email, or publish confidential documents.
4. There is no attachment analysis in the sandbox. Dangerous files (Word, PDF, Excel) are opened directly, allowing macro viruses to infect the system, spyware to activate, and malicious scripts to execute.

SCAND: Custom Outlook Add-Ins for Your Security Needs

Off-the-shelf Outlook security solutions are good, but many companies need customized tools that are tailored to their specific needs. At SCAND we specialize in custom Outlook add-in development that goes beyond off-the-shelf solutions.

Why would you need to order a custom solution?

Off-the-shelf plugins are often either redundant (with a bunch of unnecessary features) or not flexible enough. We create solutions that:

• Adapted to your industry – for example, specific encryption requirements in medicine or law.
• Integrated with your infrastructure – works with your internal CRM, DLP, or SIEM systems.
• Scalable to your business – you can start with basic protection and add features as you grow.

What features do we implement most often?

1. Automatic encryption. 

Not just manual activation, but intelligent rules: for example, all emails from accounting or marked “Confidential” are encrypted automatically.

2. Phishing protection with training

The system not only blocks suspicious emails but also explains to employees how to recognize an attack (e.g., by highlighting fake domains in the address).

3. Secure work with attachments

• Sandbox to check files before opening.
• Automatic conversion of risky formats (e.g. .exe → .zip with password).
• Watermarks for confidential documents.

4. Leak Control (DLP)

• Block emails containing card numbers, passport numbers, and other sensitive data.
• Warning when an attempt is made to send a file labeled “Internal Only” to an external recipient.

5. Analytics and reports

The IT department sees: who tried to send risky data, and which phishing attacks were blocked, which employees are most likely to make mistakes.

Outlook4Gmail: Sync your Google Calendars and Contacts with Outlook

If your company uses Gmail, but you need the familiar Outlook interface with all its features and added security, our Outlook4Gmail solution is exactly what you need. We have developed a convenient tool that provides full synchronization between Gmail and Outlook, allowing you to work with your mail, contacts, and calendars in a familiar interface, but with the important addition of built-in corporate email security.

The key feature of our approach is that we don’t just connect Gmail to Outlook, we create a secure working tool that combines the convenience of a familiar interface with the modern security requirements of corporate communication. This is especially important for companies that are migrating to Gmail but want to retain control over their email correspondence and protect themselves from modern threats.

Need a customized security module for Outlook?

Contact SCAND to discuss your project. We will analyze your risks and propose a solution without unnecessary features – only what will really protect your business.