What is Email Security?
Email security solutions are designed to protect against phishing attacks and other email-borne attack vectors, protecting email accounts from external threats. While many email services have built-in security, organizations may need additional solutions to protect against modern cyber threats.
Common Threats to Email Security
Some of the biggest threats to email security include:
Phishing
Phishing attacks are the most well-known and common threats to email security. Phishing attacks began with attacks like the Nigerian Prince scams, which were known for their poor grammar and unbelievable pretexts. Over time, these attacks have become more sophisticated with attackers sending much more polished emails with more plausible pretexts.
The modern phishing attack can be general or targeted. These targeted attacks, also called spear phishing attacks, are highly researched and designed to trick a particular person or group. One example of a common spear phishing attack is business email compromise (BEC). In a BEC attack, the target is tricked into sending sensitive data or more commonly money to the attacker.
Malware
Email is an ideal delivery mechanism for malware. Malware can be attached directly to an email or embedded in documents that are shared as attachments or via cloud-based storage. And once installed on a computer, malware may steal sensitive information or encrypt a user’s files.
Data Loss
Email accounts have access to a great deal of sensitive information. In addition to the data sent directly over email, these accounts are also used to access cloud-based infrastructure and other online services.
An attacker with access to these email accounts can gain access to all of this sensitive information, making email account credentials a common target of attack. Additionally, this information can be leaked unintentionally by employees who accidentally include an unauthorized party on an email chain or fall for a phishing attack.
Malicious Links
Malicious links are some of the most common ways that cybercriminals weaponize email. With a link embedded within an email, an attacker can direct the recipient to a webpage under the attacker’s control.
These phishing pages can be used for a variety of different purposes. Phishing pages can be designed to steal user credentials or deliver malware. Regardless, these can cause serious damage to an organization.
7 Ways to Secure Your Email
Email is one of the most commonly used attack vectors by cybercriminals because it is easy and effective. Protecting against these attacks can also be simple if an organization and its employees follow email security best practices, including:
- Use a Strong Password: Weak, reused, and leaked passwords are the most common cause of email account compromise. Using a strong, unique password is essential to the security of email accounts.
- Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): If an attacker gains access to a user’s email credentials, the compromised account can be used in a variety of attacks. Turning on MFA makes it more difficult for an attacker to perform an email account takeover because they need more than just the user’s password.
- Deploy Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Solutions: Sensitive data can be leaked via email both intentionally and unintentionally. DLP solutions can help to identify signs of potential data exfiltration and block it before a breach occurs.
- Implement Phishing Email Filtering: While many email providers try to filter out phishing content, some attacks will slip through. Deploying a solution to scan for and filter phishing content can help to prevent these emails from reaching employees’ inboxes.
- Scan for Malicious Attachments: Attachments are a common way that phishing emails deliver malware to a target. Scanning emails for suspicious or malicious attachments can enable these attachments to be identified and removed from the email before they reach the user’s inbox and potentially infect their machine.
- Train Employees: Phishing attacks are designed to take advantage of a user by tricking them into clicking on a link or opening a malicious attachment. Employee cyber awareness training can help employees to identify and appropriately respond to malicious emails, decreasing the probability of a successful attack.
- Perform Frequent Security Monitoring: The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving, and cybercriminals may develop new attack methods or start new campaigns using email against an organization. Monitoring email traffic for anomalies that may indicate a new threat can be critical to detecting and responding to these attacks.
Email Security with Check Point
According to the 2021 DBIR, phishing was involved in a staggering 36% of data breaches in 2021. Cybercriminals understand how vital email is to the modern business, making an email security solution capable of detecting phishing, data loss, and other email-related threats, an absolute necessity.
Check Point Harmony Email & Office provides state-of-the-art protection against common and emerging email threats. To learn more about its capabilities, request a demo. You’re also welcome to try it out for yourself with a free trial.
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