More Email Security for Enterprises

For many people, email is one of the most important means of communication, especially at work. Every day in the office, we receive an average of around 21 emails and more, and the trend is rising.

But the more we send every day, the greater the risk of falling victim to cybercrime. That's why the issue of security should play a major role, especially in small and medium-sized companies. And this applies to both sending and receiving emails.

Email security a broad field

As digitization advances, crime is also becoming increasingly digital. Cybercriminals are targeting emails in particular. For them, the advantage is that they are relatively cheap and easy to use. They also have a number of potential vulnerabilities if companies are not careful with their electronic mail.

Viruses, data leaks and attacks with other malware can often result in financial and image damage. Phishing attacks are probably the most common type of email crime.

Phishing as a major threat

Phishing is a combination of the words "fishing" and "password". As the name suggests, criminals are targeting the personal data of recipients in so-called phishing emails. In the best case, phishing mails can be fended off with an effective spam filter before further damage is done.

In the case of so-called "spear phishing", however, the mails are so well tailored to specific companies or organizations that even the spam folder can no longer tell whether it is a genuine mail or an attempted scam.

Whale phishing" focuses on CEOs and managers. Due to increasingly elaborate fraud attempts, companies must become active themselves and not rely exclusively on the company's internal spam filter. Otherwise, major damage could be done.

Enterprise cybersecurity plan

All corporate email security should be based on a sophisticated security plan, which may also include using a cost-effective VPN to secure email communication. The security plan is virtually the foundation of digital protection and deals, for example, with the rules on how and from which devices emails may be sent.

Especially in times of the Corona pandemic, when more and more people are working from home, it is important that companies define appropriate rules here so as not to put digital security at risk. After all, there has been an increase in cases of phishing during the home office boom of the past two years.

Privacy in email marketing

Newsletters, standalone emails, transactional emails and many other types of emails can be part of a company's balanced email marketing concept. After all, it is one of the most important channels for dialog between a company and its target group.

It is precisely in this dialog that sensitive data is often exchanged. For this reason, the topic of data protection should have top priority here. Not only could customers be harmed by mistakes, but data protection officers in the supervisory authorities could also impose severe penalties.

But what is the best way to prevent data protection errors? Effective email marketing software can help here, for example by supporting double opt-in. Double opt-in is the process of double-checking whether a user has really subscribed to a newsletter. This is done by sending a confirmation link to the specified email address. Only after this confirmation is the registration really completed.

Training in the company

One of the most important tools for ensuring the security of emails in the company is the company's own workforce. Regular training sessions can raise awareness of the digital world and, in particular, how to deal with emails. The focus should be on the following points, among others:

• Password hygiene: Strong passwords that are changed regularly do not give cybercriminals a chance. It is also important not to always use the same password, but to find a new password for each digital application.
• Locking screens: Are employees currently out of place. the computer screen should always be locked. This prevents attackers from accessing emails and other sensitive data.
• Multi-factor authentication: Not only username and password should be used for logins, but other factors should be added. This can be done, for example, via Tans, QR codes, biometric data or external readers.

Blocking dangerous emails already on the mail server

Another very effective method of preventing dangerous emails is a spam filter at the Exchange server level. All incoming emails are automatically checked and spam is sorted out before it reaches the mailboxes.

SpamAssassin is particularly well-suited for this purpose, because it performs a static analysis as well as a network analysis and can thus detect and ward off spam particularly thoroughly. SpamAssassin is integrated in our Multi Plugin for Exchange Server and already preconfigured - so it filters directly on your Exchange Server.

Conclusion

Email security should be a big issue in companies. After all, if special precautions are not taken, it can not only cause financial damage, but cyber attackers can also play with the company's reputation.

With a well-thought-out cybersecurity plan, you can effectively protect your company from attacks in the long term. In addition to the initiative of your employees and other security measures, the use of a clever security plugin for your mail server is an important pillar.