6 Types of Email Security Software

Despite a significant rise in web-based attacks, email is still the number 1 attack vector. 68% of all attacks can be traced back to an email, according to Check Point’s “The State of Cyber Security 2025” report . As the primary channel for business communication, email remains the easiest way for cybercriminals to contact employees and exploit the human aspect of cybersecurity via social engineering attacks.

To counter these threats and secure their email infrastructure, businesses need to identify and invest in email security software. But what email security features should you consider, and what type of email security software is the best solution for your business? Below, we explain the landscape of enterprise email protection, compare the best types of software on the market, and provide a framework for choosing the right solution.

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What is Email Security Software?

Email security refers to the processes that protect email communication at your organization. Modern email threats excel at rapidly converting minor user mistakes, clicking a link or opening an attachment, into major incidents such as data breaches, ransomware attacks, or fraudulent transactions.

Given the volume and speed of these threats, organizations require dedicated email security software and tools that respond in real-time and automate safeguards. Email security software is a specialized solution for protecting individual users and the broader organization from a range of email-based threats, like phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC), data leakage, and more.

Email is central to business operations and a valuable target for cybercriminals, with:

Employees sending, receiving, and storing sensitive data via email
Tight integrations between email systems and other corporate systems
Business and collaboration tools are typically tied to email accounts

Infiltrating email infrastructure and account takeovers can lead to data exfiltration, intellectual property theft, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and significant financial losses.

Email security software plays a critical role in reducing these risks, including:

Preventative measures such as email filtering software that prevents malicious content from reaching employees’ inboxes
Enforcing security and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies
Verifying the identity of email senders using protocols to prevent impersonation
Providing email encryption tools to protect sensitive data being shared
Ensuring compliance with industry regulations and privacy laws
Response capabilities to identify and limit the impact of a successful email attack

Given the potential consequences, the importance of email security in the current threat landscape cannot be understated. Plus, email attacks are only increasing in sophistication, as threat actors develop new tactics and integrate AI tools to create more convincing social engineering messaging.

Benefits of Using Email Security Software

Using effective email protection software offers many benefits:

Prevents Costly Breaches: A single BEC or phishing attack can result in millions of dollars in costs. With proper email malware protection, encrypted channels, and strong filtering, organizations can avoid reputational, legal, and financial damage
Ensures Compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.): Many regulations require the protection of personal and sensitive data. The right secure email software solutions can provide the capabilities and tools to maintain and prove compliance
Better Risk Management: With preventative techniques and incident response capabilities, business email security features mitigate the risks posed by new and evolving threats, while reducing recovery times in the event of a successful attack
Increases Productivity: Reduces the load on IT teams through automated security controls. Additionally, beyond security, email protection software leads to less time wasted by regular employees sifting through spam messages

What are the Core Features to Look for in an Email Security Software?

Many organizations rely on native filtering built into email. These native tools can provide a baseline level of protection, blocking obvious spam, identifying known malware signatures, etc. However, they lack the advanced features offered by dedicated email security software that protect against modern threats.

There is a wide variety of email security features and capabilities available across different solutions. Core features to look for when comparing secure email software include:

Spam and Phishing Detection: Identifying not just generic spam, but more advanced, targeted social engineering such as spear-phishing, BEC, domain spoofing, fraudulent links, and more. Email filtering software detects spam and phishing attempts before they reach employees’ inboxes
Malware/Ransomware Protection: Email malware protection features help filter out malicious payloads. These methods include attachment scanning using threat intelligence platforms to identify malware and ransomware, as well as unsafe links, and executing files in a safe environment, or “sandbox,” to determine their purpose without impacting the rest of the organization

AI-Based Threat Detection: Using various AI technologies to identify subtle threats that signature-based tools may miss. This includes Natural Language Processing (NLP) models that analyze emails for sophisticated phishing messages, anomaly detection to spot email activity that deviates from normal operations, and machine learning to improve threat detection over time
Email Encryption Tools: Encrypting messages ensures attackers can’t intercept sensitive data. With email encryption tools, only approved users with the corresponding decryption key can access the original information

Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Monitors email messages to enforce policies and prevent sensitive data (personal data, financial, health records, IP) from leaving the organization inappropriately

Integration with Email Clients: Works with and protects popular business email clients, such as Google or Microsoft. Seamless integration helps maintain coverage and enforce email security policies, while facilitating workplace collaboration
Incident Response: Ability to identify and respond to potential attacks in real time, implementing advanced email security features and controls while minimizing lateral movement throughout your corporate network
Reporting, Visibility, and Compliance Tools: Logs, dashboards, and forensic tools to monitor email activity and prove compliance with regulations

Best Email Security Software

Listed below are six leading vendors who offer the best business email security software in 2025. By understanding the capabilities of each solution, you can identify the right type of email security software for your operations.

#1. Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration

Harmony Email & Collaboration from Check Point is an AI-powered platform that provides comprehensive protection for both email and collaboration tools. Check Point is the leader in email security software with the best phishing and malware catch rates, blocking over 99% of threats, including sophisticated and evasive attacks. Every analyst report since 2023 names Check Point as a market leader, including leading organizations like Gartner, Forrester, GigaOM, and Miercom.

With cutting-edge email filtering software incorporating NLP and machine learning technology, Harmony is able to detect subtle indicators of phishing, malware, account takeover, and even zero day threats. An API-based solution, Harmony offers the benefits of modern email protection software and is the only platform that provides complete standalone email security. Response capabilities include unified quarantine for suspicious messages and attachments, and real-time account takeover controls to quickly identify unauthorized access attempts.

AI-driven threat detection with industry-leading catch rates
Unified coverage for email and collaboration tools to deliver complete protection
Visibility and control of sensitive data being sent and received across the organization to enforce DLP policies
Built-in training tools, including phishing simulation and security awareness features

#2. Barracuda Email Protection

Barracuda Email Protection is a well-regarded email protection software that combines email gateway and API-based inbox security into a unified cloud platform. With extensive email security features, Barracuda’s offering includes spam, malware, ransomware protection, and real-time link and URL protection. The platform leverages AI engines to improve detection accuracy and coverage for different threats.

Additional capabilities include sandboxing for suspicious attachments, encryption, and DLP monitoring for sensitive information. Barracuda Email Protection offers flexible deployment options with support for both cloud and on-prem infrastructure, as well as integrations for popular email and collaboration tools, Microsoft 365 in particular.

Extensive threat coverage, including impersonation and BEC detection
Real-time URL and DNS filtering, encryption, and sandboxing
Flexible deployment models and deep Microsoft 365 integration
More suited to smaller operations such as SMBs

#3. Proofpoint Email Protection

Proofpoint Email Protection offers enterprise-grade email security software that can be deployed either as a cloud-based gateway or as an API-based solution. Known for offering robust yet cost-effective email security for smaller businesses, Proofpoint still provides extensive capabilities. The solution’s main selling point is its attack visibility built on a constantly updating and global threat intelligence platform.

Core email security features from Proofpoint include URL filtering, adaptive content filtering, encryption, archiving, and threat detection that extends to sophisticated phishing attempts such as BEC. The platform also offers detailed reporting to track email activity.

Impressive threat detection capabilities, including low false positive rates
Granular controls to tailor email security features for your organization
Reporting tools that enhance email visibility and help prove compliance
The platform’s more advanced features are gatekept behind higher-priced packages

#4. Mimecast Advanced Email Security

A popular business email security vendor, Mimecast offers both a secure email gateway suite and a cloud-native suite for Microsoft 365 via APIs. Mimecast Advanced Email Security is scalable, with seamless compatibility for other email environments beyond Microsoft 365. The vendor’s enterprise email protection is also reliable, with strong Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Mimecast’s AI-powered threat detection is powered by real-time analysis of new emails each day to identify emerging tactics. Key protections based on this threat intelligence include the detection of spam, malware, zero day threats, impersonation, and targeted attacks such as spear phishing and BEC. Other email security features include encryption, policy-based DLP controls, URL protections, and browser isolation. Admins can adapt and tailor the platform’s security controls to fit their needs.

Mimecast is fast and easy to deploy without significant configuration
Granular policy management that admins can customize for your specific needs

Always on protection with high reliability enforced by strong SLAs
The platform’s advanced features are only available in higher-tier plans

#5. Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Given that many organizations already use Microsoft 365, Defender for Office 365 is a natural choice for enterprise email protection. The native vendor security solution offers protection against various threats, including phishing, malware, and BEC. However, Microsoft Defender has some limitations with less coverage for email threats compared to dedicated solutions.

The platform offers real-time reporting, threat detection, and incident response tools as well as adaptable controls. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 also integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem, including security tools like the company’s Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools.

Easy to set up for organizations already utilizing Microsoft 365
Real-time threat detection and reporting capabilities
Customizable security policy management and advanced administrative controls
Provides limited coverage and protection compared to dedicated email security software

#6. Trend Micro Email and Collaboration Security

Trend Micro Email and Collaboration Security provides AI-driven threat detection, leveraging the latest intelligence. This includes behavioral anomaly detection, content scanning, and sender verification, to help minimize email security risks. Trend Micro offers real-time visibility to identify threats and monitor user behavior. Organizations can develop their automated response to security incidents for proactive protection.

The platform integrates with leading cloud email clients and collaboration tools while also simplifying how you maintain and prove compliance. Trend Micro Email and Collaboration Security also aims to streamline security workflows through centralized management, analysis, and risk prioritization.

AI-powered threat detection based on behavioral analysis and up-to-date threat intelligence
Strong compliance and reporting capabilities
Centralized visibility and email management
Setup and policy configuration can be complex for smaller teams

Secure Email Gateways Vs. API-Based Enterprise Email Protection

One of the main factors to consider when comparing email security software solutions is whether they use a traditional Secure Email Gateway (SEG) model or a more modern API-based approach. The choice impacts deployment, management, and the ability to protect cloud-based systems effectively.

SEGs are traditional email security software solutions that filter messages before they reach a mail server, blocking spam, phishing, and malware. While effective, SEGs often require MX record changes and can struggle with modern cloud email platforms.

API-based enterprise email protection takes a different approach, integrating directly with services like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace through APIs. This enables the continuous monitoring of mailboxes, real-time detection of threats, and rapid response to account takeovers. API-based email protection software is easier to deploy, doesn’t disrupt mail flow, and scales seamlessly.

For organizations using cloud-based systems, API-driven secure email software provides superior flexibility, granular email security features, and enhanced protection against evolving threats.

Choosing the Right Email Protection Software

There are many factors to consider when searching for the best email security software for your organization. Critical factors affecting your decision-making process should include:

Company Size: Smaller businesses may be able to get by with simpler email security solutions that do not provide every advanced feature. In contrast, larger enterprises should look for solutions with easier policy management and unified visibility to help oversee email activity for a large number of employees
Threat Profile and Industry: Companies in higher-risk, more targeted industries, such as financial services, healthcare, and education, need to place a greater emphasis on email security concerns. This includes seeking solutions that offer both the depth and breadth of email security features to safeguard employees and maintain compliance
Regulatory and Compliance Needs: Only consider email security software that provides the functionality needed to meet your regulatory and compliance needs. Whether it is GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or other regulations, look for email security features that match. This may include encryption, DLP, reporting, and other security measures
Deployment Model: Cloud vs on-premises vs hybrid deployments. Cloud-based email security is often easier to manage and update, while on-premises solutions may offer more control but at a higher cost
Existing Infrastructure: If you’re already using Microsoft 365 or other collaboration suites, choose a vendor that integrates seamlessly for fast and easy deployment
Vendor Reputation: Look for independent reports from industry analysts and user reviews to cut through the marketing material and learn whether a vendor can actually deliver on what they say

Industry-Leading Email Security From Check Point

Email remains the leading attack vector in 2025. This makes strong email protection software essential for any organization that takes cybersecurity seriously. Of the 6 business email security solutions discussed above, Harmony from Check Point has consistently been recognized as a market leader by industry analysts. Learn more about how it could transform email security at your organization by scheduling a demonstration today.