How secure is your email?
Be honest, you probably don’t know, do you?
Let’s try another question. How many emails do you send and receive in an average day at work? 10? 50? 100? More?
What about everyone else? Every day around the world in 2018 there will be around 280 billion emails sent and received and virtually every business and organisation in the world relies on it to communicate inside and outside their walls. So, knowing that without it your business would come to a stuttering, grinding halt, why don’t you know how secure your email is?
Here’s another thing to bear in mind – cyber-criminals also use email and they use it as much as you do. They want what you have. Data, personal details, your bank account numbers and those of your clients. The clincher – they’re clever, very clever and they’re one step ahead of you, so how do you reverse the equation and stay one step ahead of them?
The Facts (And They Don’t Make For Pretty Reading…)
Mimecast have released their 2018 State of Email Security report and the stats all scream ‘get your email security in order immediately…’
- 90% of organisations have seen phishing attacks rise or stay static over the last 12 months*
- Organisations have encountered internal threats driven by careless employees (88%), compromised accounts (80%) and malicious insiders (70%)
- Only 27% of businesses have a complete cyber-resilience strategy
- 80% of organisations aren’t confident their employees can spot and defend against ransomware sent by email
- In 2018, almost 6 in 10 businesses will suffer a negative impact from an email attack
*data from Vanson Bourne, commissioned by Mimecast
6 in 10. 60%. What would happen if your email – your most critically important business asset – stopped working by fair means or foul? The consequences, including financial losses, a loss of productivity and data loss, are too terrible to contemplate which is why you need to be protected and with Mimecast, your email is safe. It protects your business against spam, viruses, malware, impersonation fraud, ransomware and emerging threats and it allows you to stop worrying and start focusing on growing your business.
What Can You Do?
Here’s one thing you shouldn’t do – cross your fingers and pray that it doesn’t happen to you because if that’s your strategy, you may as well turn the lights off and close the doors because that says you’re not that bothered.
The stakes are high. In fact they’ve never been higher and there’s plenty you can do to protect your emails.
- Don’t rely on humans as your first line of defence. Technology exists to scan emails for malware, dodgy links and phishing attacks so use it! In fact, make it a pre-requisite of your email client
- Ensure all passwords fall into the ‘strong’ category. Better still, use a Single-Sign-On service to remove passwords altogether and use token-based authentication. For sound advice on password policies and complexity, check out this blog from industry expert Brian Krebs
- If your business uses webmail, insist that everyone uses two-factor authentication. Getting into your system via webmail is Hacking 101. Don’t make it any easier than it already is…
- Use a secure connection between your mail server and your email gateway such as TLS – Transport Layer Security – if you’[re not familiar with TLS, don’t worry, we are and we’ll talk you through it
- Educate your employees on how to spot inbox dangers but don’t just do it once. Do it over and over again. There are platforms you can use that both educates and helps to weed out your riskiest users with simulated attacks. You’re only as strong as your weakest element…
This first list requires the help of technology but these last two are the low-hanging fruit. The easy wins. Start here and let tech take care of the rest…
- Think before you click, especially on emails from unknown senders. If there’s any doubt at all, don’t do it
- Wherever possible, don’t access company emails from public wi-fi connections
Your default position should be that you’re under attack but the trouble is, you never know from where or when you’re going to be attacked and to compound the stress, the threats are only getting more sophisticated and the cyber-criminals more determined.
Still willing to play fast and loose with your email security?
For all things cloud and to talk to us in more detail about email security and what your business needs to do, email info@koncisesolutions.com or call +44 (0) 20 7078 0789 and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Have a good week.
Koncise Solutions
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