With the improvement in technology and connectivity, online security is one of the biggest concerns for people all over the world. Here, we are not only talking about common people but also big names in the enterprise industry where cyber security is a big challenge at the global level. Nowadays, cyber-attacks on enterprises are on the rise. Criminals use different types of tricks to steal or hack or some important systems and data. Because of such kinds of cyber security attacks, enterprises are facing serious challenges and losses.
One of the most common types of cybercrimes is carried out through emails. Email security is something that organizations are ready to invest heavily, to ensure that their network remains safeguarded and beyond the reach of miscreants. There are various methods of ensuring email security which include securing email content and accounts, communication about illicit access, compromise, or loss. Email is the easiest method to spread malicious content in the network of an enterprise, which thereby offers unlawful access to confidential data.
Here, we are going to talk about some of the most common threats to enterprise email security faced by companies at a global level:
- Delivering malware via spam – If we talk about the most common type of firm email thread, it will be using malware. This technique is very successful to target employees of organizations. Criminals can simply send spam emails to employees in the name of partners, customers, or suppliers. In such kinds of spam mails, there may be Attached malware that will silently infect the target computer and will steal the information. Sometimes, organizations may need several months to find out such kind of hidden malware and it is surely a big cause of data and information leakage in organizations.
- Phishing emails – Phishing emails are also very common and quite similar to spam emails. These types of emails are more customized and used worldwide by hackers and criminals. In this technique, the attacker will use the available information of customers and employees of organizations to lure them to click any fake link in the mails. These links will redirect the victim to the fake websites that are used to steal admin information and credentials.
- Business email compromise – Business Email Compromise is mainly used to target higher rank Employees of the selected organization. It is also known as CEO Fraud and is quite different from the normal type of fishing attack. The attacker may invest lots of time to study the behavior and habits of the victim and gain information from social media activities. Based on such information, an attacker can target the victim to make a financial transfer to their account.
- Spoofing attacks – Spoofing is a very common type of attack that may involve fake information and data like an email address that will appear legitimate. The attacker may use the fake email address of brands like Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Netflix, and more to attack the victims.
- Botnet and DDOS – A botnet is a group of devices or machines that are connected to the internet and infected with malware. A botnet is controlled by hackers and can be used for fishing and spam campaigns. In botnet and DDOS attacks, thousands of emails can be sent to the company to overload the system and hack it.
- Attacks on email servers – Different types of advanced technological methods are nowadays being used to attack email servers of large organizations. As you know, all types of data and information of the company may be stored on these servers and it is one of the easiest targets of hackers.
Final words
Ensuring top-notch email security is the fundamental step towards preventing both financial as well as intellectual losses. According to reports, at least 91 percent of data breaches across the world are carried out using targeted emails, also known as “spear phishing”. In 2019, there were almost 1473 data breaches reported in the USA, which exposed as many as 165 million confidential records. The rate at which such serious unethical acts are increasing by the day, heightening email security is indispensable for any company, no matter its size.