How to Approach Advanced Email Protection & Broach It with the Board at Your Organization

Of all the many and varied cybersecurity threats facing enterprises, it can be easy to overlook the threat posed by email. Other cyber attacks, such as nation-state threats, are often deemed more newsworthy and more of a priority for cybersecurity teams. But email remains a principal means of attack for cybercriminals, and all the while it is so widely used will continue to be a significant threat. In fact, according to Verizon's 2022 DBIR report, Internet-based web applications and email are still the top two vectors for data breaches. 

Advanced email protection needs to remain to be a top priority for any organization that is serious about cybersecurity. What’s the best way to approach this?

Deploying the Right Email Security Solution Is One Answer

People are human and will occasionally make mistakes and bad threat actors exploit that by sending phishing emails and social engineering lures that are incredibly realistic and more and more sophisticated. It is easy for anyone to be distracted and click a link or open a document in an email that looks like it has come from a trusted source.

Any organization taking advanced email protection seriously then, needs to use the appropriate email security solutions. Part of Fortra's Advanced Email Security consists of Clearswift's Secure Email Gateway, which is suitable for an organization using email services based in the cloud, on-premise, or in a hybrid environment. A notable strength of it is its ability of structural sanitization, which removes malicious code and stops embedded macro-malware and ransomware from even entering a network. This includes attacking uploads, as well as providing protection against phishing emails. Even more importantly, it works without interruption to communication flow, meaning the organization can continue operating as it usually does. 

Cybersecurity Training Is the Other

It can’t be stressed enough that employees in any organization need to be trained thoroughly and regularly in what to look out for in a cyber attack. Ransomware, spyware, and phishing are some of the more common ways in which email is used to gain access to a network or system, and all can be hugely problematic. Ransomware is a particularly insidious email threat, a specific form of malware that uses encryption to access systems and then withhold data until a ransom is paid. Not only can it leave an organization without access to data for long periods, but the repercussions can be highly damaging.

The short-term financial impact of disrupted operations or paying the ransom should not be discounted, but the longer-term damage to a brand is potentially even worse. Customers may think twice about staying with a provider that shows such apparent disregard for their data. At the same time, prospects would be forgiven for wondering whether it’s a good idea to switch providers.

That’s why training is such an integral part of advanced email protection and should never be overlooked. Furthermore, cybersecurity training should be ongoing, not a one-off occurrence. And exactly what Fortra's Terranova Security offers and advocates for with its cybersecurity awareness training and phishing simulation offerings.

Data Loss Prevention Ascension

Keeping confidential data safe has grown in importance over the past few years, to the extent that for many organizations, Data Loss Prevention has become their main priority. And our SEG plays a crucial role in this by relying on Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality to detect and extract text from workplace documents such as Word and Excel that are sent via email and image-based files too. It inspects structured and unstructured data within an email, reducing the number of false positives, in contrast to the traditional ‘stop and block’ method. Keeping the flow of information is vital in most organizations. They cannot afford for essential documents to be held up as they have been incorrectly blocked for having potentially dangerous threats in them.

One Comprehensive Solution to Augment Microsoft 365

Many businesses now prefer to manage their email services through the cloud. M365 is the most popular method of doing so and has hundreds of millions of active monthly users. Microsoft has made a great effort to ensure the security of M365, but it can still be vulnerable.

It’s a major target for cybercriminals, and to be truly safe and secure, it requires an additional layer of protection. Our Secure Email Gateway fits the bill perfectly, coming with all the security features valued by global customers, such as Adaptive Data Loss Prevention, Advanced Threat Protection, email attachment sanitization, all within M365. 

Just as secure with cloud deployments (whether hosted or managed) as with on-premise, Fortra's protection against advanced email threats is perhaps the key component in any organization’s cybersecurity toolkit, encompassing practical training for employees and the best, most comprehensive email security solution.