10 Tips for Maximum Email Security
Email security is crucial for protecting personal and business information. Cyberattacks are commonplace and continue to cause major financial damage and data loss, and email remains the main entry point for attacks. So how can companies protect themselves? Here are 10 tips for maximum email security.
1. Install updates promptly
Regularly updating operating systems, applications and security software should be a matter of course, as should automating patch management. This is the only way to ensure that there are no security gaps that can be exploited by criminals. For example, vulnerabilities in the email protocol (such as SMTP) or in the implementation of encryption can be exploited. Updates eliminate such vulnerabilities.
Cyber criminals are constantly developing new methods to penetrate systems. Updates often contain new security mechanisms and protective measures against the latest threats. Virus scanners or email gateways are supplied with the latest threat signatures through updates.
A good way to ensure that systems are always up-to-date and ideally configured is to use managed services for email security. Configuration and maintenance are then not your responsibility, but are provided by special service providers. This guarantees full functionality, secure systems and configurations. The latest features are also immediately available and usable at all times.
2. Keep backups up to date
Data backups play a very important role in corporate IT security. They are an essential measure to ensure the availability and integrity of data. They insure against various types of data loss and help to maintain business continuity and minimize the impact of cyberattacks and emergency situations. Regular, reliable and tested backups are therefore essential for IT security and the smooth functioning of a company.
With regard to ransomware attacks, this allows companies to restore their data without paying the ransom, which significantly reduces the potential danger and impact of such attacks. In addition to ensuring business continuity in the event of an attack, this also enables companies to meet legal and compliance requirements. Regular backups should therefore be an integral part of any disaster recovery plan.
3. Verify the email sender
Verifying sender reputation is an effective way to detect spoofed sender domains and prevent phishing attacks. Strong mail security software offers such procedures, making them easy to implement. Nevertheless, many companies do not use them – and thus fail to provide their company with the best possible protection.
Quick question: How do you actually know that the emails you have received today really come from the senders stated in the emails? In other words, that the emails are genuine and that the senders listed in the email program are the actual senders?
Short answer: Without checking the sender reputation, you have no way of knowing. This is because the use of SPF, DKIM, DMARC and ARC is essential for detecting forged sender domains and defending against phishing attacks.
Put simply, all sender reputation procedures are based on settings in the email system which, if configured accordingly, provide a kind of public checklist for the legitimacy, authenticity and integrity of emails from this domain.
For example, criminals often try to send phishing emails via a fake ‘MAIL FROM’ address. This is where SPF (Sender Polify Framework) comes into play, because in the SPF entry, the owner of a domain specifies all IP addresses of the mail transfer agents (MTAs), i.e. the servers – in the Domain Name System (DNS) that are authorized to send emails on behalf of their own domain.
In this form of fraud, formerly known as CEO fraud, the perpetrators pretend to be a manager or other decision-maker at a company and induce employees to transfer money to their account. In some cases, the identity of the employee’s own superior is faked, in others that of a customer or supplier, for example to send alleged invoices in their name.
The affected companies are often first spied on via social networks in order to identify the people relevant to the attack. This is followed by initial contact by email or telephone, which aims to psychologically manipulate the employees contacted in order to nip any doubts in the bud.
The CxO fraud detection in NoSpamProxy compares the sender name of incoming emails with the names of company users. Fake emails sent to you in the name of superiors or employees are intercepted in this way.
4. Recognize dangerous email attachments and render them harmless
Time and again, there are reports of successful cyber attacks carried out with the help of infected attachments. Criminals hide malicious code in Word or PDF documents, for example, and trick victims into clicking on links or executing malicious macros.
The handling of email attachments is therefore a decisive factor in the fight against malware. The aim is always to remove any malicious code and send the recipient an attachment that is guaranteed to be harmless.
With NoSpamProxy, attachments in Word, Excel or PDF format can be automatically converted into non-critical PDF files based on rules. The PDF document optionally contains a preview page with individual information on the reason for the conversion and, if desired, a link to the original document, which is located in a specially isolated environment.
5. Check and disarm links in emails
It is usually impossible to tell at first glance where a link leads. Elaborately designed phishing emails always aim to persuade the user to click, with the help of bait that looks the most promising for the attackers and particularly “tasty” for the victims: KfW Bank, QR codes, archives, corona or others – it should be clear that action is to be taken.
Effective URL management is therefore crucial for your IT security. This should not only check the links contained once, because the destination of URLs can still be changed after they have been sent. It is therefore important to check again at the time of clicking whether the URL leads to a malicious destination.
The URL Safeguard in NoSpamProxy checks the links in incoming emails against entries in the NoSpamProxy Allowlist, a list of known websites curated by NoSpamProxy, as well as against entries in a local Allowlist created by the administrator. This also applies every time you click on it again.
6. Recognize patterns, avert dangers
In addition to detecting and blocking malicious attachments and links, there is another level of protection that is essential for the security of your IT infrastructure: evaluating the metadata of the emails and attachments sent to you. This enables you to recognize threat patterns more quickly and respond to cyber attacks in a more targeted manner.
32Guards recognizes new malware trends, new types of spam attacks and emerging threats of all kinds in the shortest possible time. The growing database makes it possible to adapt the service to the current threat situation.
7. Encrypt emails
How important is email encryption? Very important, as many recent surveys show. The reasons for this include the growing threat of industrial espionage, automated email screening by intelligence services and the influence of artificial intelligence.
You protect sensitive data from unauthorized access by encrypting your communication. At the same time, you receive legally compliant proof of documents sent by email.
S/MIME is the recommended and internationally agreed standard for electronic signatures and encryption of emails, and S/MIME4 and PGP-based email encryption is the basis for data protection and legal security in your company. It guarantees secure communication with your partners and customers. This allows you to use strong encryption algorithms and protocols.
Simplicity of use is also important, as the use and administration of the required certificates and keys is too time-consuming for many. That’s why a gateway solution that does this work for you is ideal. You can control your S/MIME encryption or PGP encryption centrally at the gateway or, even better, simply directly with the help of Microsoft Outlook.
8. Raise employee awareness
In addition to the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), social engineering and the increasing professionalization of cybercrime are exacerbating the situation. The diverse threats increase the risk of security breaches to such an extent that companies have to adapt their defense strategies dynamically and in a targeted manner.
Despite numerous technical security precautions, social engineering remains at the heart of many cyber attacks. The fact that 74% of all security breaches are attributable to human error is prompting more and more companies to place employees at the center of their security strategy and, for example, to raise employee awareness through simulated cyberattacks with attack simulation trainings.
9. Implement NIS2
NIS2 stands for Network and Information Systems Directive 2 and is an EU directive to strengthen cybersecurity in Europe. The NIS2 directive was proposed by the European Commission in December 2020, came into force at EU level on January 16, 2023 and stipulates that the obligations of the directive must be implemented by October 17, 2024.
NIS2 entails a number of obligations for the companies concerned. These include registration with the competent authority of their own member state, the disclosure of contact details and the reporting of security incidents, i.e. incidents that could lead to a serious disruption of operations. However, the biggest change for businesses will be the additional security requirements imposed by NIS2.
Under NIS2, email service providers must take appropriate security measures to protect their services from cyber-attacks and to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of email communication. The aim is to protect against malware, phishing and spam.
This may include implementing security standards, monitoring security incidents and cooperating with the competent authorities when reporting security incidents.
10. Establish effective crisis management
The aim of any crisis management is to respond quickly and in a coordinated manner to security incidents, protect sensitive data and maintain business continuity. Preventive measures to avoid cyber attacks are essential. However, it is also important to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Because in an emergency, the right action by the key players in the company is crucial. A well-organized crisis management system enables email security incidents such as phishing attacks or malware infections to be identified and rectified quickly. In this way, the damage can be kept to a minimum and the spread of the problem can be contained.
It is therefore also about coordination and communication so that everyone involved is informed and up to date. This applies to both internal communication within the company and external communication with customers, partners and the authorities.
Once an emergency has occurred, crisis management helps to restore normal operations. In addition, the incident is analyzed and evidence is collected so that the causes of the incident can be identified and future incidents can be prevented.
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