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A030802: Configuring S/MIME with Exchange 2003

S/MIME support is new to Exchange 2003. It enables Outlook Web Access (OWA) users to send secure email messages using the S/MIME protocol. This article explores how to deploy this feature using an existing Exchange implementation and OWA.

To start, you need to have Exchange 2003 successfully installed and configured to proceed with the setup that follows. In addition, you need to be familiar with setting up security certificates on Windows Server 2003 and have the Windows Server 2003 Certification Authority (CA) installed.


Installing a Certification Authority - If you haven't already installed the CA, use Add or Remove Programs to select Add/Remove Windows Components. From the wizard, select Certificate Services and install an Enterprise root CA.


After you have installed and configured the CA, the users can request their security certificates. Have users visit http://server/certsrv (where server is the name of the server where the CA is installed and configured) and request a user certificate for themselves. This certificate will be installed on the user's local machine and can be used with OWA.


Importing and Exporting Certificates - For more information on importing and exporting certificates for use on other machines, check out the Exchange 2003 Deployment guide, available from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/exchange2003/proddocs/library/.


With the certificate installed, you need to log in to OWA and click on the Options button. Under the heading E-Mail Security, click the button marked Download to download the extra components required for S/MIME encryption. When these components are installed, you will see two additional options under E-Mail Security: Encrypt Contents and Attachments for Outgoing Messages and Add Digital Signature to Outgoing Messages.

You can use these options to set the default encryption settings for any new messages, or you can choose to encrypt or sign each message individually.


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