Over the years, email has become an integral part of modern workplaces. It is one of the most widely used communication platforms across organisations, if not the most commonly used medium. However, with the increase in email usage, threat actors saw an opportunity to infiltrate and compromise enterprise systems.
In fact, a recent industry study revealed that more than 90% of malware are delivered via email. Last year, roughly 306.4 billion e-mails sent and received each day. This figure is forecasted to reach 376.4 billion daily by 2025, which categorically raises security concerns among organisations.
Furthermore, the rapid rise in remote work makes email an even more viable method for attackers. Emails are one of the primary targets of cyber-attackers for accessing company data through phishing attacks and spams.
In fact, a recent study by Proofpoint revealed that 68% of surveyed CISOs in the UAE feel at risk of suffering a material cyber-attack in the next 12 months. When asked about the types of attacks they expect to face, insider threats (29%), phishing (28%) and Business Email Compromise (25%) topped the list.
As email security threats become increasingly common and dangerous, businesses must take ample precautions to secure their email systems. While there is no silver bullet approach to solve this issue, today there is a plethora of solutions available to help organisations secure their email infrastructure. But how do enterprises choose the right one? Here are some key aspects IT and business leaders should consider when looking for the right email security platform:
- Seamless integration with Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most widely used email management platforms that organisations are leveraging today. However, the platform’s popularity makes it a high-value target for cybercriminals. While the platform comes with built-in security, it is not impenetrable from security risks and gaps. Therefore, it is vital for organisations to opt for an email security solution that easily integrates with Office 365. Such a solution will also provide an added layer of security and ease your compliance challenges across your Office 365 environment.
- Advanced security functions
Every email security solution should protect an organisation from bad emails, meaning those that contain malware, phishing attempts, spam and so on. A good email security platform should include protections against all these threats. It should include support for sandboxed evaluation of suspicious or malicious attachments. This enables an email security solution to have accurate filtering and behaviour profiling to protect inboxes against threats and to prevent false positives.
It is also ideal to look for an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solution, as they can remarkably strengthen your defence against even more advanced business email compromise (BEC) scams, phishing attacks, and other sophisticated email threats.
- Leverages threat intelligence
An effective email security platform should utilise up-to-date threat intelligence. Threat intelligence is information about known and emerging threats, such as the IP addresses and URLs of malicious domains. This collection of data is instrumental in identifying email-borne cyber-attacks before they can do serious damage.
By leveraging threat intelligence, an email security platform can be much more successful in detecting and mitigating malicious emails, assuming that this data is kept current at all times.
- Multi-layered security
Ensuring multiple layers of security is vital in protecting your email platform. These additional layers help limit risks as they make it harder for attackers to penetrate your systems. Choosing a solution that offers multi-layered email security enables organisations to remediate compromised accounts, get timely alerts, quarantine malicious files and apply authentication protocols when necessary. It also helps organisations gain control and visibility over inbound and outbound email, providing them with more insights into where attacks are coming from and how they can be mitigated.
- Top-notch provider supportÂ
One of the most important facets to keep in mind when looking for an email security platform is finding a provider that offers quality customer support. A good email security provider delivers constant, real-time support and industry best practice advice from a knowledgeable technical support team.
With so many options available in the market, finding the right email security platform can be overwhelming. Identifying and understanding the key benchmarks to consider can go a long way in helping you select the right solution for securing your email infrastructure. However, it is also crucial to keep in mind that no matter how selective you are in your evaluation process, there will still be risks due to human error. Therefore, organisations need to constantly conduct security awareness trainings to arm employees with the right capabilities, turning them into a strong line of defence against today’s cyber adversaries.
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