The use of emails has always been increasing ever since its inception in the 1960s. Business communication, circulation of academic information, conveying personal information – almost everything is passed on between individuals or organizations via emails mainly for either or all of the following reasons:
Emails are faster.
Emails are reliable.
Emails ensure that the information reaches the end recipient and, if not, notifies the sender about it.
There is no scope of data loss with emails.
Emails are an excellent means of recording information chronologically.
On the surface, there is nothing to be concerned about in email communication. The accounts of both the sender and the receiver are self-operated and locked by passwords which only both of these parties know. However, with the advancement of useful technology occurs an equal (if not higher) rise in technology which brings vicious attackers and hackers into the picture.
What Is Phishing?
Phishing attacks are just like fishing in a river where a person tries to get hold of a fish by giving it a believable bait of a bread crumb or any similar bit of food. However, in phishing attacks, the fishes are the netizens, and the fishermen are the cyber attackers. Phishing attacks are most commonly circulated via email messages. In such attacks, an unexpected mail from a seemingly credible source asks the receiver to take specific immediate action (such as paying unpaid dues or claiming a reward) by clicking on an attached link or downloading a file. But these are impersonating emails taking the user to fake websites created by the attacker. And often, these install malware into the computers of users. These attacks also happen in other forms like through voice messages (Vishing), SMS frauds (Smishing), attacks targeting the big shots of an organization from whom the profits can be maximum (Whaling) or creating a replica of a website to win the trust of an unsuspecting user (Pharming).
What Is Malware?
Malware is another means used by attackers to install corrupt files and software into the computer systems of users without their permission or against their will. Often malware operates secretly and steals the private information of users without their knowledge. This information is then accessed by the attacker who either uses the data to blackmail the victim, launch a sextortion campaign, or sell the stolen details at a high price in the dark market. Its types include:
Ransomware – which locks the system of the user or encrypts files until the demanded ransom is paid.
Spyware – which launches spying software into the computer and steals data.
Scareware – which attempts to extract user information by instilling fear in them.
Adware – where malware gets downloaded via attacker-created fake advertisements.
What Is Email Security?
Email security is the process of shielding email accounts from the attacks of vicious hackers. It refers to the means employed by a user, an organization, or an information network to keep themselves secure from these phishing attempts and malware attacks.
How To Ensure Email Security?
Email security can never be a fool-proof plan as the attackers always manage to find some loophole even in the most sophisticated methods of protection. However, minimizing such attacks is the objective, and this can be achieved by adopting the following measures:
Setting strong passwords: Strong passwords with alphanumeric characters and symbols are highly recommended. It’s always more important to have secure passwords instead of easy to remember passwords.
Changing passwords from time to time: Using the same password for too long makes you more vulnerable to hacking attempts of attackers. Hence it is always advisable to change passwords from time to time. Also, having different passwords for different accounts is a smarter decision than otherwise.
Having a good antivirus installed: Antivirus software creates a layer of protection against all types of viruses and malware trying to attack your devices. It is a must to have an antivirus when you visit multiple websites on the Internet or install external devices and disks into your computer.
Having anti-spam filters: Anti-spam filters ensure that spam emails or messages do not show up in your mailbox, thus protecting your system from the malicious emails sent by attackers. It also saves you a lot of time and energy that gets wasted otherwise in opening those emails.
Using only updated software: Software developers update software from time to time to incorporate patches and other improvements to make the software secure and more efficient. Not updating one’s software to the latest version is sending an invitation to attackers to steal your files.
Being wise on the web: With everything said and done, the most frugal tip remaining is to be careful on the Internet. One must have a skeptical mind and halt before impulsively clicking on links and pop-ups. A click takes hardly a second, but often its after-effects cost millions of dollars!
Since one cannot do away with emails, one needs to find ways and means of doing away with the threats to email security. Protecting yourselves on the web is not easy but also not unachievable. Taking specific preventive measures goes a long way in keeping attackers and malware away.
Designing a successful email marketing campaign takes time and strategy. While it is imperative to partner with an established email marketing vendor, you cannot possibly overlook email security. As an enterprise head, you might be focusing on intensifying your digital footprint by working on your email list and leads. Amidst all these responsibilities, it’s easy to ignore online threats from malicious actors. While most established email marketing vendors offer anti-phishing services and ransomware protection, you need to guard yourself against other modes of attacks too. To craft a better experience on your digital journey, you need to know the best practices while selecting your email marketing vendor.
Malicious actors reportedly attacked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) mail system Saturday (November 13, 2021) morning, ostensibly as a DHS warning of a cyberattack. The FBI confirmed that attackers compromised its mail servers and sent out bogus messages. Despite spending millions to ensure cybersecurity, the FBI’s network has been compromised. The attackers could have used the emails for spear phishing and ransomware attacks but instead outlined how recipients avoid cybercrimes. They used a compromised server to send spam, warning that someone could steal their data.
Cyber threats of various kinds are rising, but as businesses and individuals become aware of the lurking dangers, cybercriminals are coming up with increasingly sophisticated methods. In a recent cyber attack, threat actors accessed customer support systems and stole data, including names and emails of 2 million Robinhood customers. After the attack on Robinhood Markets was discovered, the platform admitted that the attacker stole the client data by tricking a customer support employee.
With API security, you’re not just securing your data but the strength of the infrastructure as well. When hackers exploit the vulnerabilities in the API and gain access to the entire network, they engage in privilege escalation and employ different kinds of attacks and compromise the most sensitive data. This could lead to huge revenue losses and long-term damage to the firm’s reputation, all of which has a better probability of being avoided with due efforts made in API security.
Email masking is a technique that alters an email address to protect the actual email from misuse. Email masking can help protect an organization’s email address and that of thousands of its customers. A masked email address retains its original format and cannot be traced back to the actual address.
Autodiscover, a Microsoft Exchange protocol, now has a vulnerability that miscreants can exploit, according to a security firm that discovered the loophole as part of their email security research efforts. If anyone uses the vulnerability, they can access sensitive credentials from the Exchange-connected client, in a threat akin to spear phishing. These sensitive credentials are Windows domain credentials that can authenticate Exchange servers. And malicious actors using the vulnerability for their nefarious activities can be a nightmare to any organization.
While website security tools secure the data that passes from server to browser, email security tools prevent unauthorized access to email accounts, content, and communications. In general, the safety of email servers tends to be limited to problems with messaging and the application of security measures that have more to do with anti-virus and anti-spam protection. If a business is dependent solely on a platform such as Gmail or MS Outlook, it does not need to focus on protecting email servers. However, when one decides to implement and maintain a dedicated email server, one must employ spam protection, phishing protection, ransomware protection, and other advanced safeguards against email threats.
Email is one of the most used forms of communication. There are around 4 billion email users worldwide, and the number of emails sent and received per day is estimated to increase to about 376 billion in 2025 (from about 306 billion in 2020). With over 4.5 billion users expected to use email in 2025, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that emails have fundamentally transformed how digital communication is carried out, whether for business, marketing, or some other purpose. However, it is also the same channel that is responsible for a majority of phishing attempts globally. Email security and phishing protection are major focal points for IT Security services and global tech giants alike.
The reports of the past five years show that around 80% of all cyber-attacks are impersonating social engineering attacks. Today, most email attacks are malware-less to avoid setting off malware scanning alarms. The primary aim of adversaries is to gain the target’s trust by impersonating some legit entity or user. As the emails do not contain any malicious content, they can easily bypass the email security defenses.
The situation has even worsened globally during pandemic times as most of the phishing attacks are coronavirus-themed. Malicious actors take advantage of the employees working from home with less secure connections and endpoint devices.
In the simplest of words, a misdirected email is an email sent to the wrong address. The 2020 Outbound EmailSecurity Report published by Egress says that 79% of organizations have listed misdirected emails as one of the topmost email security risks. Although it is a common issue that might seem harmless initially, there are various risks that a misdirected email can pose to the organization. From data breaches to loss of reputation, a simple mistake can go a long way to ruin an organization’s brand value.
Today, the healthcare industry faces one of the most daunting tasks of protecting human life in an insecure cyber environment. Healthcare organizations worldwide deal with massive amounts of medical records and other PHI (Public Health Information) and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Such data is communicated internally and with other parties such as hospitals, medical centers, administrations, and insurance providers.
An average of 306 billion emails get exchanged every day globally. Email is the primary medium for official, professional, academic, or any other form of formal communication and is accepted across the globe for its ease of access and use. However, emails are also the gateway to a majority of the cyberattacks taking place today. It all starts with an apparently legitimate email that, in reality, spies, steals information, downloads malware, hacks, or does other malicious activities on devices and associated systems.
Emails continue to remain the primary method of business communication in the digital era and have not lost their relevance decades after their inception. Today, they serve several other crucial purposes, marketing being one of them. Businesses (especially online ones) extensively use email marketing to keep in touch with their existing users and customers, target a new customer segment, etc. According to a recent survey, almost 65% of small businesses prefer email marketing over direct social media channels such as Instagram and Twitter. Hence, it is clear that businesses cannot afford to ignore email marketing in today’s times. However, to ensure success through this marketing channel, it is crucial to evaluate and review the efficacy of your email marketing strategy and process, and this is where an email audit can be of significant help.
With the advancements in technology, the sophistication of malicious actors has also improved by leaps and bounds. Organizations must counter such a circumstance by creating firewalls to maintain robust email security. These attacks are becoming more rampant and frequent. It is here that Artificial Intelligence has a significant role to play. With both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) becoming more intelligent by the day, it is time that they are leveraged to their full potential against such attacks.
Email security is undoubtedly a priority for small businesses. However, while focusing on the email marketing strategy, they might overlook the basics. For 87% of B2B marketers, email serves as the prime channel of distribution. At the same time, organizations lost more than $1.8 billion due to ’Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks in 2020. It highlights the importance of setting up the email strategy and policy in the right way. Email marketing can become a powerful tool to attract new clients and engage the existing ones with the right approach. However, businesses must avoid some general mistakes while setting up professional email for their brand and using the same for marketing purposes, as discussed below.
Incidents of malware infection have been so regular that they are no more news to organizations worldwide. A single system infection is still within the control of the IT Security teams, but when it occurs at a significant scale, it can prove spine-breaking for the organization. Hence, there need to be contingency plans to counter it even before it comes to such a stage. Organizations must prepare a robust malware incident response plan and keep it ready for immediate implementation.
Today, we are in the digital age, where advanced technology makes everything easier. The advantage digitalization offers to organizations is especially remarkable. Organizations like banks that had to deal with millions of people and billions of transactions daily can now manage a large proportion of their customers online. As a result, online banking is gaining in popularity, thanks in part to the convenience it accords the customers.
The digital age has witnessed emails emerge as one of the most original and popular methods for online correspondence. Regardless of the size of an enterprise, email security continues to be a concern. In 2017, the number of email users across the globe was around 3.7 billion. This figure is likely to rise to 4.3 billion by 2022. Besides, malicious actors have close to 300 billion emails dispatched around cyberspace to target each day. Without a robust line of defense, an organization would always be in the shadow of an attack from adversaries. Phishing attempts, ransomware attacks, malicious attachments, and links continue to exploit the vulnerabilities.
With the rampaging virus and a restriction on movement, most staff have started to work from home. While this change has led to a successful fight against the virus, it has given IT Security teams a lot to work on. A widespread workforce and spread-out security protocols have led to systems and networks becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats like spear-phishing, BEC, etc. Moreover, most enterprises moving to the cloud created an open field for both the victim and the perpetrator.
