--- title: "Should You Fret About Email Security And Email Continuity For Your Startup Or Small Business? | DuoCircle" description: "Malicious actors still prefer to apply social engineering strategies in messages to steal critical information such as passwords and financial details and make." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/email-security/should-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business/" --- Quick Answer Yes, startups and small businesses are disproportionate phishing and BEC targets and need email security and continuity from day one. APWG recorded 146,994 phishing attacks in the first half of 2020, BEC volume continues to rise, and Verizon's 2020 DBIR found phishing the leading vector for data breaches, with smaller organizations seeing higher malicious email volume. Email security combines tools and procedures that protect accounts, content, and authentication against unauthorized access, loss, and compromise. Email continuity keeps mail flowing when your primary mailbox provider has an outage. The two together protect both the data inside email and the channel itself, both of which a small business depends on completely. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-security%2Fshould-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Should%20You%20Fret%20About%20Email%20Security%20And%20Email%20Continuity%20For%20Your%20Startup%20Or%20Small%20Business%3F&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-security%2Fshould-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-security%2Fshould-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-security%2Fshould-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business%2F&title=Should%20You%20Fret%20About%20Email%20Security%20And%20Email%20Continuity%20For%20Your%20Startup%20Or%20Small%20Business%3F "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Should%20You%20Fret%20About%20Email%20Security%20And%20Email%20Continuity%20For%20Your%20Startup%20Or%20Small%20Business%3F&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-security%2Fshould-you-fret-about-email-security-and-email-continuity-for-your-startup-or-small-business%2F "Share via Email") ![DuoCircle blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/12/hosted-email-server-7442.jpg) _Malicious actors still prefer to apply social engineering strategies in messages to steal critical information_ such as passwords and financial details and make people perform tasks such as completing a wire transfer to their account or downloading malware. All such incidents ultimately jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of any organization’s crucial information assets. Hence it calls for serious attention to [email security](/) and email continuity. ## Some Alarming Statistics And Facts _Malicious actors often invent sophisticated methods to get through various cybersecurity strategies of organizations_. Here are some [alarming phishing statistics](https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/phishing-statistics-facts/) and facts. - [APWG’s Phishing Activity Trends Report for Q2 2020](https://apwg.org/trendsreports/) shows that the first half of 2020 witnessed **146,994 phishing attacks**. - Though credential phishing has reduced, there is an increase in the number of BEC (Business Email Compromise) cases. - Smaller organizations and startup entities witness a higher number of **malicious emails**. - [As per Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigation Report](https://enterprise.verizon.com/resources/reports/dbir/2020/summary-of-findings/), the maximum number of data breaches occurs through phishing. It drives home the fact that small businesses and startup enterprises must take serious note of **email security**. ## What Is Email Security? In simple terms, email security constitutes a set of procedures and tools for **protecting email** accounts, email contents, and other communication against unauthorized access, loss, or compromise. _It is essential because email is the primary medium that malicious actors use to spread malware, **phishing attacks**, and spam_. [![email security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/12/spf-validator-7440.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/12/spf-validator-7440.jpg) ## Why Must SMEs Consider Email Security? Besides protecting unauthorized access to a user’s email accounts and their contents, [email security](/) covers various areas. - Protects the business from **phishing attacks** - Prevents incidents of spoofing - Takes care of malware and ransomware - Discourage MITM (Man in the Middle) or [BEC attacks](/email-hosting/how-organizations-can-defend-themselves-against-bec-scams-during-the-holiday-season/) - Protects against [social engineering attacks](/phishing-protection/social-engineering-is-a-growing-threat/) The malicious activities listed above can prove spine-breaking to business entities. Small businesses or startup enterprises usually do not have the necessary cybersecurity strategies in place and are highly vulnerable. _It’s high time they paid adequate attention to **email security**_. ## Email Continuity For Uninterrupted Communication [Email continuity](/email/email-continuity) is a concept that must go hand-in-hand with email security. In the event of the exchange server crashing due to a fault or cyberattack, including DDOS, it becomes significant to have an alternate service to ensure uninterrupted email communication. A simple example is that of _Microsoft 365 Exchange Online that offers 99.99% SLA_. It indicates that there might be a minimum of an hour’s downtime at some point during the year. Thus, _email continuity is a backup mail service that allows businesses to continue functioning as usual._ ## How Email Continuity Helps When The Server Is Down? Whenever the standard email client goes offline or crashes, _email continuity helps switch all email clients to send and receive emails through an alternative platform_. It allows the IT administrators to work on the outage and rectify matters without being overwhelmed by helpdesk calls. The advantage is that clients will have access to their email and calendar information all the time. Once the email server is back online, _the email continuity service automatically reconnects and synchronizes every email sent and received during the outage_. Business enterprises must have **email continuity** to avail the following benefits. - Ability to access emails via any web browser when the regular email client is unavailable - Access both historical and live email using a familiar interface - Sustain user productivity - Reduce the complexity of email infrastructure Though the _email continuity concept ensures that employees and clients access their emails without interruption_, it becomes necessary to have the right **mail backup solution** in place to accomplish it. An effective Backup MX (Backup Mail Exchange) provides seamless continuity of email communication in the event of disruption of the primary email server. [![Email Security](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/12/spf-record-7441.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/12/spf-record-7441.jpg) ## Backup MX In Email Continuity _Backup MX is an SMTP server that springs into action when the primary SMTP server goes offline_. It thus helps maintain email continuity. Whenever an email is sent to a recipient, the email server uses the DNS MX records to search for the server that handles the domain’s emails. These MX records have a priority of order, the convention being the highest priority is offered to the server with the lowest number. Generally, the primary email server is given the lowest priority so that when it becomes unavailable, the delivery is attempted to the next mail server on the MX list. Businesses should configure their [Backup MX](/email/email-backup-mx) server to assign an MX record of lesser priority to the primary email server. It ensures the delivery of the emails to the **backup SMTP server**. ## Outbound SMTP Just as SMEs have to worry about email security, email continuity, and Backup MX, they should also be concerned about [outbound SMTP](/email/outbound-smtp). It can send emails from any device that can connect to an SMTP server and authenticate it with a username/password. _The best part is that it allows businesses to send emails even when the mail server is on the blacklist or RBL_ (Real-time Blackhole List.) ## Final Words With cyber threats looming large over the industry, it is imperative for all business entities, especially startups and small businesses, to have specific [email security solutions](/) in place. It can protect email accounts from unauthorized access and _help in safeguarding the organization’s data and reputation_. Email continuity must also be considered for continuous access to communication even when the server is down. ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) ## Related Articles [ Email Security 8m BIMI in 2026: What the Certificate Authority Does, and What Your DMARC Tool Does May 5, 2026 ](/blog/bimi-2026-what-the-ca-does-what-your-dmarc-tool-does/)[ Email Security 8m Designing A Custom Dkim Architecture For High-Volume Email Senders Apr 28, 2026 ](/blog/designing-custom-dkim-architecture-for-high-volume-email-senders/)[ Email Security 12m DMARC, SPF, and DKIM in 2026: Why Email Authentication Is Now a Regulatory Requirement, Not Just a Best Practice Apr 29, 2026 ](/blog/dmarc-spf-dkim-2026-email-authentication-regulatory-requirement-best-practice/)[ Email Security 5m Email Monitoring Tools: A Complete Guide to Protecting Your Email Ecosystem May 7, 2026 ](/blog/email-monitoring-tools-guide-protecting-your-email-ecosystem-security/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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