Why spam folders are a bad idea
An email quarantine is intended as an additional layer of security that helps companies to minimise security risks and make email communication more secure and productive. It is intended to protect users and company networks from threats that are difficult to recognise and support adherence to company guidelines and compliance regulations. In reality, however, quarantine harbours numerous risks that can lead to loss of information, financial losses and legal consequences. Find out more about these risks and what alternative to quarantine NoSpamProxy offers in this blog article.
Out of sight, out of mind
It sounds extremely convenient: potentially or actually damaging emails are (hopefully) recognised and immediately moved to a separate area, out of sight of the recipient. Out of sight, out of mind – and your head is free for all relevant tasks. This isolation of malicious emails and unwanted messages also protects users and company networks from threats, because where there is no email, there is no chance of clicking on malicious links.
The probability of a successful attack by criminals is therefore reduced. In addition, CEO fraud attacks or attacks based on social engineering in general are recognised and also isolated.
Moving all these emails to an area that is separate from the actual inbox also seems to create more transparency and therefore more overview and control. Unfortunately, monitoring and maintaining the spam folder takes time and resources that would surely be better spent elsewhere. If you then quickly press Ctrl+A + Del out of convenience or in a hurry, you may delete important emails.
This ill-considered deletion of quarantined emails in particular can cause further, more serious problems.
When desired emails end up in the spam folder
Almost everyone has experienced this: you are expecting an important email, but it simply doesn’t arrive. Whether it’s a confirmation email from an online service, a newsletter or another business or private email – it’s annoying. Especially if you then find this email in your spam folder at some point.
My emails end up in the spam folder
It is equally annoying when emails you send end up in the spam folder of your communication partner. Procedures for checking the sender’s reputation can help here. These include
For many people, checking the spam folder or quarantine folder has become routine, but sometimes it happens too late. In the best-case scenario, you can only log in to the online service in question after a delay; in the worst-case scenario, an important deadline has passed. A ruling by the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH – Federal Court of Justice) shows just how critical the latter case can be.
Emails in quarantine are considered delivered
A ruling by the Bundesgerichtshof makes it clear why spam and quarantine folders are not a good idea and what dangers they can pose. This applies in particular if the content of the email is an invoice or another legally binding document with a deadline.
On October 6, 2022 (case no. VII ZR 895/21), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) issued a ruling that clarifies when an email is deemed to have been received in business transactions. The BGH ruled that emails that are made available for retrieval on the recipient’s mail server during normal business hours are generally deemed to have been received by the recipient at this time. This naturally also includes spam and quarantine folders.
According to the BGH, it does not depend on whether the email has actually been retrieved or acknowledged. Consequently, emails that are overlooked or not found in the aforementioned spam folders are also legally deemed to have been delivered.
A recent case from Austria also illustrates the problem. The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) has ruled (3 Ob 224/18i) that the quarantine must be checked and legally relevant documents are deemed to have been received even if they end up in the quarantine folder.
Mail server is the recipient’s sphere of influence
As the sender has no control over whether and which email protection the recipient uses, it is solely the responsibility of the recipient to check spam and quarantine folders. If the recipient does not do this to a sufficient extent, they are legally vulnerable. The BGH justified its decision as follows: The mail server used by the recipient to receive emails is attributable to his sphere of control, as
Fend off spam mails, don’t organise them
With NoSpamProxy you avoid such problems from the outset, because with NoSpamProxy there is no spam folder and no quarantine. Unlike other solutions, NoSpamProxy blocks malicious emails before they even reach your inbox.
If a trustworthy email is not accepted, NoSpamProxy ensures that the sender is informed that delivery has been prevented. This makes NoSpamProxy one of the few products on the market that offers full compliance with the demanding German law (in particular according to §206 StGB, §88 Telekommunikationsgesetz). This is just as easy to understand as sorting away into folders – and creates legal security.
A server-side quarantine is also not a solution
Some mail security solutions rely on a server-side quarantine that only the IT department has access to. This is intended to prevent suspicious emails from arriving in the recipient’s inbox or spam folder. The aim is to prevent the recipient from moving or opening potentially dangerous emails themselves.
In practice, however, this approach often results in an increased number of tickets for internal IT, as users have to request approval from IT for emails that have been incorrectly categorised as dangerous.
Award-winning spam protection with NoSpamProxy
The latest awards show how securely you are protected by NoSpamProxy: In the VBSpam test for the third quarter of 2024, NoSpamProxy was honoured with the seventh VBSpam+ Award. The email security suite ‘Made in Germany’ achieved a detection rate of over 99.96 per cent in the latest test.
NoSpamProxy was voted the winner of the Professional User Rating for email security solutions for the seventh time in a row. NoSpamProxy particularly impressed users in the categories of performance, range of functions and user-friendliness.
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