FTAPI - Secure e-mail communication

FTAPI - Our secure e-mail communication with you

  • General

    The Saarpfalz-Kreis would like to adequately secure e-mail communication between you and the authorities. This is our legal obligation and our claim to communicate with you securely.

    Email is an insecure communication medium. This applies to the confidentiality of the transmitted message and its integrity.
    An email is confidential if only the communication partners of a message can read its content. The integrity of the message also guarantees that it has been transmitted unchanged from the sender to the recipient.

    Both are by no means guaranteed without further security measures in standard e-mail communication and therefore require supporting technical measures to achieve this.

  • The solution offered

    As the Saarpfalz district, we work together with the provider FTAPI in order to be able to offer you a sufficiently secure communication channel, both from the authority and to the authority.

  • How does FTAPI work?

    The FTAPI approach is that all attachments in an email are no longer sent with the email itself, but are simply linked in the email. The recipient can then download the attachments from the FTAPI platform. The data is adequately protected both during transmission and in terms of content.

  • The FTAPI security levels

    Depending on how sensitive the content of an e-mail is, the Saarpfalz-Kreis employee will decide which security level to use to send you the data.

    The Saarpfalz district sends mails with the following security levels:

    Security level 2

    • The data can be accessed via a secure link.
    • You need a (free) user account with FTAPI to access the attachment.

     Instructions level 2 (pdf)

    Security level 3

    • You need a (free) user account with FTAPI to access the attachment.
    • The attachment is end-to-end encrypted and is decrypted with the SecuPass key.

    Security level 4

    • You need a (free) user account with FTAPI to access the attachment and the message.
    • The attachment and the message are end-to-end encrypted and are decrypted with the SecuPass key.

     Instructions level 3 and 4 (pdf)

  • What does this solution mean for you when submitting documents?

    In some cases, it is necessary for the authority to request data or documents from you. If this is the case in direct contact with a clerk, the clerk can open a digital access channel for your documents to the authority via a so-called upload link.

    Instructions for submitting documents (pdf)

  • The protection of your personal data

    The FTAPI platform favours data economy. Therefore, only your email address is required to create an account.
    Your data is always securely encrypted while it is stored on the platform. From security level 3 and higher, only you can decrypt and view your data.

    Once an account has been created, it remains active for 90 days. If there is no activity during this time, it will be automatically and completely deleted together with your data.

    The data stored on the platform in the course of e-mail communication remains available for 60 days. After that, it will also be completely deleted.

    No employees of the Saarpfalz district other than the communication partner can view the contents of an e-mail communication.

  • When does FTAPI NOT work for you?

    FTAPI communicates with you at certain points in the process flow by e-mail to guide you through the process. These emails often contain further links to map the FTAPI process for data exchange. These mails are currently sent with the sender address [email protected]. If this address or the mail domain is blocked or your IT department only allows text mails, you will not be able to use the basic functions of FTAPI.

    The same applies if links from emails are generally filtered due to security concerns. These technical restrictions mean that important information is lost, both in terms of content and technically, e.g. regarding the interaction between sender and recipient. This also prevents basic functions for using FTAPI.

    Please bear this in mind when taking your own safety measures and evaluate them accordingly.

  • Conclusion

    With FTAPI, we offer you a secure to highly secure solution for mail communication in accordance with the security level used.

    This method is free of charge for you and as easy to use as possible. All the functions you need to receive a message can be displayed in your Internet browser. No additional software is required on your computer.

    In the instructions, you will find a comprehensive description of how to use FTAPI as a communication partner for the respective use case.

    If you have any queries, please contact your respective communication partner.

Many thanks
Your Saarpfalz district