Email is one of the oldest technologies built on top of the internet. Unfortunately, being one of the oldest technologies means that by default, it is also one of the least secure. To fully secure your email, you will need to take some extra steps. Today, we are going to go over some of the risks of unsecured emails and some of the technologies and best practices you can introduce to your business to make your corporate email more secure.
What Are the Risks of Unsecured Email?
Unsecured email has a host of threats associated with it which will be familiar to anyone working in managed IT services. New York businesses alone suffer thousands of attempted cyberattacks every day, and the majority of these originate through email. Cybercrime is one of the biggest risks of unsecured emails.
Ransomware/Malware:
Email is one of the most utilized ways for attackers to introduce malware, ransomware, and viruses on to your network. Often this is through an infected attachment. The attachment may appear to be something benign like an invoice, but when opened it is actually an executable file which will infect your machine with ransomware. Thousands of businesses fall victim to ransomware attacks every year, and unsecured email is often the cause of this. Properly securing email plays an important part of any ransomware prevention services.
Phishing Scams:
Phishing emails are emails which appear to be from genuine contacts or businesses but are in fact fake. They often attempt to trick you into either downloading malware or handing over sensitive data like passwords. Many of these are easy to spot (like claims you have won a lottery in another country, or other offers that seem too good to be true) but others can be much more difficult. Additionally, if access to your email is compromised, an attacker could use your genuine domain to send out phishing emails to all your customers and suppliers.
Data Breaches:
A large amount of sensitive data is stored in your email inbox – even more than would normally occur to you. Information like your customers’ personal information and bank details. An attacker gaining access to your inbox would instantly also have access to all this data. They can also use your email to start sending recovery passwords to other accounts which may be connected to it and begin exfiltrating data from these accounts too!
How Can I Make My Business’s Email More Secure?
Improve Your Spam Filter
Every email client has its own built-in spam filter. You should set this to the highest sensitivity available to catch as much spam as possible before it reaches your inbox. It is better to periodically check your spam folder for genuine mail that has been accidentally flagged than to have spam in your inbox.
Every email client comes with its own spam filter. To catch as much spam as possible before it hits your inbox, set this to the highest sensitivity possible. It is preferable to check your spam folder on a regular basis for genuine mail that has been mistakenly marked as spam than to risk having spam in your inbox. For enterprise-grade security, you should consider using a third-party email filtering tool. Mimecast and Barracuda are two popular email filters which will be more stringent and be more customizable than your email client’s built-in filter.
Learn The Tell-Tale Signs of Phishing Emails
Phishing emails can be quite harmful if they persuade you to divulge sensitive information or download malware, but most of them are fairly straightforward to spot if you pay attention. Be on the lookout for…
- Frequent spelling/grammar mistakes
- Emails that are trying to rush you to take an action
- Sender’s email addresses which do not match the address you have on file for them.
Use Two Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) refers to using an additional piece of information to secure access to system, beyond the standard email and password combination. 2FA codes can be generated by an app like the Google Authenticator or sent to your mobile phone by SMS. Implementing 2FA immediately makes your email more secure, as an attacker would now also need physical access to your unlocked mobile, instead of just needing your username and password.
Contact A Managed IT Services Provider
Contacting a managed IT support services company that also
Email is one of the oldest technologies built on top of the internet. Unfortunately, being one of the oldest technologies means that by default, it is also one of the least secure. To fully secure your email, you will need to take some extra steps. Today, we are going to go over some of the risks of unsecured emails and some of the technologies and best practices you can introduce to your business to make your corporate email more secure.
What Are the Risks of Unsecured Email?
Unsecured email has a host of threats associated with it which will be familiar to anyone working in managed IT services. New York businesses alone suffer thousands of attempted cyberattacks every day, and the majority of these originate through email. Cybercrime is one of the biggest risks of unsecured emails.
Ransomware/Malware:
Email is one of the most utilized ways for attackers to introduce malware, ransomware, and viruses on to your network. Often this is through an infected attachment. The attachment may appear to be something benign like an invoice, but when opened it is actually an executable file which will infect your machine with ransomware. Thousands of businesses fall victim to ransomware attacks every year, and unsecured email is often the cause of this. Properly securing email plays an important part of any ransomware prevention services.
Phishing Scams:
Phishing emails are emails which appear to be from genuine contacts or businesses but are in fact fake. They often attempt to trick you into either downloading malware or handing over sensitive data like passwords. Many of these are easy to spot (like claims you have won a lottery in another country, or other offers that seem too good to be true) but others can be much more difficult. Additionally, if access to your email is compromised, an attacker could use your genuine domain to send out phishing emails to all your customers and suppliers.
Data Breaches:
A large amount of sensitive data is stored in your email inbox – even more than would normally occur to you. Information like your customers’ personal information and bank details. An attacker gaining access to your inbox would instantly also have access to all this data. They can also use your email to start sending recovery passwords to other accounts which may be connected to it and begin exfiltrating data from these accounts too!
How Can I Make My Business’s Email More Secure?
Improve Your Spam Filter
Every email client has its own built-in spam filter. You should set this to the highest sensitivity available to catch as much spam as possible before it reaches your inbox. It is better to periodically check your spam folder for genuine mail that has been accidentally flagged than to have spam in your inbox.
Every email client comes with its own spam filter. To catch as much spam as possible before it hits your inbox, set this to the highest sensitivity possible. It is preferable to check your spam folder on a regular basis for genuine mail that has been mistakenly marked as spam than to risk having spam in your inbox. For enterprise-grade security, you should consider using a third-party email filtering tool. Mimecast and Barracuda are two popular email filters which will be more stringent and be more customizable than your email client’s built-in filter.
Learn The Tell-Tale Signs of Phishing Emails
Phishing emails can be quite harmful if they persuade you to divulge sensitive information or download malware, but most of them are fairly straightforward to spot if you pay attention. Be on the lookout for…
- Frequent spelling/grammar mistakes
- Emails that are trying to rush you to take an action
- Sender’s email addresses which do not match the address you have on file for them.
Use Two Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) refers to using an additional piece of information to secure access to system, beyond the standard email and password combination. 2FA codes can be generated by an app like the Google Authenticator or sent to your mobile phone by SMS. Implementing 2FA immediately makes your email more secure, as an attacker would now also need physical access to your unlocked mobile, instead of just needing your username and password.
Contact A Managed IT Services Provider
Contacting a managed IT support services company that also specializes in email security services is the best advice for securing your email and your network in general. They will tackle your whole IT infrastructure with caution and take proactive steps to improve your overall cybersecurity. Consider looking for providers of IT services near you.
is the best advice for securing your email and your network in general. They will tackle your whole IT infrastructure with caution and take proactive steps to improve your overall cybersecurity. Consider looking for providers of IT services near you.