Email has without out a doubt changed the way we communicate, allowing for instantaneous correspondence from anywhere in the world. Hackers have often plundered email due to the ease in which they can spread malware through spam emails. Email security works to secure and control the access and content of a particular email service or account.
According to cyber security firm Symantec " email is the most common way for cyber criminals to launch and distribute threats" The article goes on to note that as time has passed the level of sophistication for these malicious emails have increased, along with some alarming statistics: 1 out of every 412 emails contains a malware attack and an estimated 7,170 organizations are hit by a business compromise email each month. Numerous politicians and corporations (Sony) have succumbed to email hackers in recent years and it seems like there has been little stemming of these attacks.
Corporations must be especially diligent when dealing with email hacks, due to the possible breaches of data and consumer privacy. Information Technology (IT) experts have published a list of best practices to follow in order to ensure email security, these include:
Avoiding phishing and spam emails: by clicking on suspicious links you could be setting yourself up to be hacked.
Implement a Multi-Antivirus scanner: this will help increase the rate of detection of spam emails and malware by scanning inbound emails.
Check for confidential information: It is important to avoid sending valuable information such as social security numbers, credit card information via email.
Train employees: It is important that employees are trained on what to look for/do regarding suspicious email's, basic guidelines suggest avoiding links or attachments from unknown senders.
Blocking large email attachments: Any attachment that is larger than 10 MB should be blocked due to the potential to shutdown an entire network.
Archive emails: It is important to archive older emails in case a disaster occurs, by archiving you will still have a backup to revert to.
There are numerous email security firms and software that can help your maintain a secure email system. While there are too many companies and services to list, make sure you do your research before deciding on what company to use.
According to cyber security firm Symantec " email is the most common way for cyber criminals to launch and distribute threats" The article goes on to note that as time has passed the level of sophistication for these malicious emails have increased, along with some alarming statistics: 1 out of every 412 emails contains a malware attack and an estimated 7,170 organizations are hit by a business compromise email each month. Numerous politicians and corporations (Sony) have succumbed to email hackers in recent years and it seems like there has been little stemming of these attacks.
Corporations must be especially diligent when dealing with email hacks, due to the possible breaches of data and consumer privacy. Information Technology (IT) experts have published a list of best practices to follow in order to ensure email security, these include:
Avoiding phishing and spam emails: by clicking on suspicious links you could be setting yourself up to be hacked.
Implement a Multi-Antivirus scanner: this will help increase the rate of detection of spam emails and malware by scanning inbound emails.
Check for confidential information: It is important to avoid sending valuable information such as social security numbers, credit card information via email.
Train employees: It is important that employees are trained on what to look for/do regarding suspicious email's, basic guidelines suggest avoiding links or attachments from unknown senders.
Blocking large email attachments: Any attachment that is larger than 10 MB should be blocked due to the potential to shutdown an entire network.
Archive emails: It is important to archive older emails in case a disaster occurs, by archiving you will still have a backup to revert to.
There are numerous email security firms and software that can help your maintain a secure email system. While there are too many companies and services to list, make sure you do your research before deciding on what company to use.
