Email security essentials

by CESS | Mar 22, 2021 | Cyber Security, Cyber-Updates, email security, Emailattacks, How to be safe, Malware Updates

If you are an IT professional or a software engineer you must need the email security solution for your company in order to keep your corporate emails safe.

Here we are discussing the essentials for email security and for that, you should first know about the vulnerabilities found in email servers,

Common vulnerabilities found in email servers-

• Phishing– Phishing is the process of stealing data via email. It is different from normal stealing, as in this stealing cyber attackers steal your login data, passwords, credit card numbers, etc. This is done by sending a malicious link to the user by writing something urgent on the mail which forces the user to open the mail and as soon as he opens the mail he gets trapped.

• Malicious attachment– It is also a type of email theft where the user is duped to open the email by sending a malicious attachment and when you click “enable content” you are hacked, my friend.

• Ransomware- It is a type of malware in which the attackers send an email with a message to encrypt the data only when the user pays the ransom( money). In some cases, it comes with a deadline.

• Email Spoofing– It is a trick used by cyber attackers to dupe users to open the email. They use the email address of the person you may know as the face value so that you can be trapped.

How to avoid them?

Now to avoid the above email hacks you should have the below email security in your system-

1. Spam Filters– You get 100’s of marketing emails every day and that’s why your email inbox clog. That’s where the attackers take advantage by trying to push that phishing email into that box. Spam filters separate these emails from the marketing emails.

• Antivirus Protection– Spam filters used to separate the emails but they remain there in the spam folder for a very long time and that’s when Antivirus protection comes into play. Antivirus scans all the incoming emails and blocks their entry into the system forever.

• Data Encryption– Even if you have used all the above software then also you have to encrypt your data so that your message wouldn’t be leaked in transit.

• Image and content control– The cyber attacker uses image content for phishing as people click on images very easily and that’s why you should scan all the image content coming in your email.

The consequences of the mentioned vulnerabilities can be damaging and threatening for your business reputation and finances. It is essential for businesses to be safe and follow certain guidelines as preliminary precautions. Email is the heart of an organization, it is of utmost importance to ensure the privacy, confidentiality, integrity of your email resources at all times.

It is always a good idea to time to time get your email systems audited by cyber security professionals. It will help you understand the risks and mitigate them before attackers do.