EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Email security and protection

While cyber threats are proliferating across numerous channels, employee inboxes represent one of the most significant attack vectors. Ninety-six percent of phishing attacks arrive via email (more than 70% of which are opened by targets), 83% of organizations reported phishing attacks in 2021, and roughly 90% of data breaches occur on account of phishing emails.

Further, 81% of malicious files are distributed via email, 1 in 239 email attachments are malicious, and 1 in 415 links are intended to deceive people. Email threats are popular among cyber attackers. Digital disruption is not inevitable, but attackers recognize that the majority of organizations lack adequate email security and protection.

Why email?

Email-based cyber threats appeal to attackers for several reasons. The attack format encourages innovation, the success rate is high, and attacks often provide criminals with direct access to corporate networks.

Email protection

A large number of organizations are not fully engaged with the challenges that email presents. Many organizations need greater visibility into one of their largest areas of risk and stronger overall email protection. Stand strong amidst relentless cyber attacks. Beware of the following ultra-common email threats and explore ways to avoid them:

1. Email fraud. Roughly 15 billion spam emails make their way across the internet everyday. Get email protection that leverages machine learning technology to classify and stop sophisticated spam attempts. Ensure that your email protection solution offers granular capabilities, allowing you to better understand these and other types of attacks.

2. Advanced BEC attacks. Last year, 71% of organizations experienced Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, and across five years, the attack type has resulted in $43 billion in losses. BEC attacks are crushing businesses, according to analysts. Get email protection that can identify and stop BEC attacks.

3. Advanced malware. Ransomware attacks are commonly delivered via phishing emails. Apply tools that can stop ransomware and phishing – simultaneously. Get an enterprise email solution that’s designed to detect malicious behavior, quarantine dangerous files, and that can stop attack attempts in real-time.

4. Account takeovers. A hijacked account presents immense risk for an organization, as the hacker can potentially gain access to databases, contact lists, customer information and other sensitive data. Account takeovers also enable hackers to impersonate account owners and to send emails in the name of account owners. Your email security solution needs to be able to prevent account takeovers.

Conclusion

The message is clear. Whether you own a small business or work for a large corporation, comprehensive email protection is a strategic imperative. In the digital age, email security risk is not going to disappear. Organizational leaders must understand it, invest in it and prioritize new ways to attend to it.

Opt for email security that offers complete protection, including protection from phishing, ransomware, account takeover attacks, BEC and supply chain attacks. Select a multi-layered email security solution that has a superior catch-rate. And because traditional gateways haven’t adjusted to the cloud, focus on email protection that’s cloud-first.

More email protection resources

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