Know Your Email Risk

Understanding the risk you face as an email user is the first step in reducing it.

Email is the preferred method for sharing sensitive data and a key communication channel that businesses cannot afford to lose access to for any period of time. Threat actors are exploiting this increased dependence on cloud email to steal sensitive data and deliver dangerous malware - crafting sophisticated new attacks and distributing these malicious campaigns using their existing networks.

Since awareness is a crucial step in mitigating risk, we've outlined these trends to help you understand the risk you face, and what is required to make email safe for business in this heightened digital threat environment. 

Phishing attacks have dominated the email threat landscape for decades; however, businesses’ increased reliance on cloud email, the proliferation of SaaS cloud-based platforms, and anxieties surrounding the pandemic have led to a resurgence in this notorious threat.

Recognizing a Phishing Email

Check for spelling and grammatical errors which can indicate that an email is fraudulent or malicious. Also, keep an eye out for suspicious subject lines and signatures.

If an email appears strange in any way, make a phone call to the sender to confirm the legitimacy of the email.

If you receive an email from a source you know but it seems suspicious, contact that source with a new email, rather than just hitting reply.

Verify shared links and attachments to ensure that they do not lead to fraudulent websites or malicious code.

Think before you act! Take time to evaluate each email you receive before clicking on links or downloading attachments. For example, ask yourself: Does an order confirmation email you’ve received correspond to a recent purchase you have made? Do the sender and recipient addresses make sense?

Preventing a Ransomware Attack

Think before you click! Make sure you have confirmed the legitimacy of an email before downloading any attachments it contains.

Make sure your OS is patched and updated - this reduces the chance of vulnerabilities existing that cybercriminals could exploit.

Back up your files frequently and automatically and protect the backups you create. This won’t prevent a ransomware attack, but it can reduce the damage caused by one. Be aware that backups are not foolproof: ransomware may sit idle for weeks until it is triggered, potentially destroying backups.

Critically Important: Invest in an effective, multi-layered email security solution that provides real-time protection against malicious URLs and attachments such as those containing ransomware, preventing these malicious emails from being delivered to the end-user.

Want to learn more ways to evaluate your email risk? Get in Touch >>

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