In films, cybercriminals are primarily depicted as some sort of genius-level keyboard ninjas, feverishly typing away and sending out a string of attacks in real-time to paralyze an organization or combat another hacker. In reality, most cybercrime is far more mundane, and sadly, it doesn’t always require highly sophisticated skills.
While any hardware or software connected to the internet can be vulnerable to hackers, including that innocent-looking printer, nine out of ten malware attacks (including ransomware) are sent through email. Email threats are also the leading cause of all security breaches.Unfortunately, while the rapid rise of remote work has been advantageous for employees, remote work can be a significant setback for cybersecurity. Home networks are typically less secure than business networks. Not surprisingly, remote networks are 3.5 times more likely than corporate networks to have at least one family of malware and 7.5 times more likely to have at least five.
Why Is Email a Common Vector For Attack?
The short answer is that it’s the easiest and most effective method for cybercriminals to get what they want. Not only can they use email to send malware or phishing links, harvest sensitive data, and more, but their success rate is relatively high. More than 60% of Americans remain highly vulnerable to phishing scams and malware.
Unless an attack targets a specific individual, it doesn’t need a high success rate for hackers to get access to everything they want. In most cases, it just takes one careless employee to click on a link and perhaps enter their credentials — just one.
Almost anyone can have a careless moment or get rattled in a stressful situation. But that doesn’t mean securing your organization’s email is impossible. It just means you need a multifaceted approach.
Three Ways to Block Malware, Spam, and More
Cybersecurity is similar to physical security in many ways, including main areas of weakness --- people, processes, and tools. Every area of liability must be addressed to have a significant effect on overall security. Keep in mind that while you may have tools in place, they may be insufficient or incorrectly configured, your processes for using those tools or responding to threats may be lacking, and your staff may make mistakes that could reduce your technology’s effectiveness.
People
Your organization should provide regular phishing awareness training to your staff. In addition to providing tips on what to watch for, these programs should include real-world simulations and quantify the results.
Processes
Make sure you have processes in place to train staff on best practices, like effective use of multi-factor authentication and using password creation methods like passphrases. It’s also important that your staff is empowered and trained to identify and report suspicious emails through report message buttons.
Tools
While technology can’t be the sole solution to email security, it is still a necessary and powerful component. In addition to URL and attachment scanning, your email security tools should contain AI capabilities to identify potential threats and incident response tools to stop attacks quickly before more damage occurs.
Marco has formed a strategic partnership with Barracuda, the worldwide leader in security, application delivery, and data protection solutions. Barracuda constantly monitors the internet for new threats and uses this insight to keep its email filtering tools up to date. Barracuda’s email solutions can help safeguard your staff’s email from major threat vectors, including:
- Advanced threats like malware and spam, ransomware, and zero-day attacks.
- Malicious URLs and attachments
- Corruption, leaks, and deletion
Define Your Email Defense Strategy and More With Marco
Email security is just one part of your broader security posture. No two organizations are alike, and if your organization hasn’t reevaluated its cybersecurity solutions in the past few years, an assessment is past due! Marco’s cybersecurity experts can provide a detailed assessment to help you identify areas of strength and any hidden vulnerabilities. Our experts can also help you prioritize what upgrades may be safely postponed, and which should be taken care of as soon as possible.
If you already know your email security is lacking, you certainly don’t have to design a comprehensive solution from scratch. Through our strategic partnership with Barracuda, we can make upgrading your email security much easier and make sure you get the very best deal.
