Social actions like phishing and email scans arrive via email 96% of the time. Phishing attacks have become one of the biggest threats for companies in the 21st Century. It’s estimated that 92% of malware is delivered through email making it the most popular method for malware delivery. This means that email security needs to be a big focal point for your cybersecurity operations. Otherwise, you run the risk of leaving one of your biggest points of vulnerability unguarded. First, let’s look at some of the risks of not investing in email security:
1) Malware
As mentioned above malware is mostly delivered through email. If an attacker is able to infect your systems with malware you are susceptible to ransomware attacks, data exfiltration, company secrets being leaked, etc. Also, since many times employees are tricked into downloading these things themselves, some of your normal security software may not be able to block it if the user is actively trying to download it and giving it permission to run.
2) Account Compromise
Another problem that comes from poor email security is employees being tricked into giving away their login credentials and accounts being compromised. A compromised account usually means that an attacker can steal company information, impersonate that employee to perform malicious activities, or use that to install malware and get even more access to company resources than they had from the initial account.
3) Business Interruptions
Any data breach or hack that results from an email-based attack has the potential to interrupt business. The average hourly cost of IT downtime is estimated to be $42,000 per hour. If you suffer a ransomware attack for example this can easily last for multiple hours and even days if you don’t want to pay the ransom, therefore it needs to be prevented wherever possible.
What does good email security look like
Email Security Software: There is software that you can get to scan emails for malicious attachments, URLs, language that indicates a scam, etc. This is important for limiting the number of malicious emails that reach your employees.
Security Awareness Training: Employees need to have a certain level of training on how to identify phishing emails. This way they will be less likely to make a mistake and perform an action that will negatively impact the company. This is important for upper management, executives, and C-suite employees that are more likely to be targeted by phishing emails.
Reporting Options: You should have a means for employees to report emails that are suspicious. Often attackers will mass-produce and send out emails, so if one employee gets it there is a good chance that multiple employees will receive it. If you have a means for employees to report these emails then you can take action to block those emails after a single employee gets it and prevent other employees from receiving that email.
How to get more free content
If you like this article and would like to read more of our content for cybersecurity insights, tips and tricks feel free to follow us on our social media. If you’re a struggling business owner who needs help in assessing their business’s cybersecurity posture feel free to take advantage of our free introductory assessment and we’ll help you figure out a game plan for keeping your company safe.
