7 best practices for tackling dangerous emails
Email is the top global communication method, but its lack of security can lead to hacker attacks. Adherence to security best practices can reduce risk, safeguard systems, and reduce incident recovery time, ensuring a secure email environment.
- Develop and enforce a corporate email policy. This document should include instructions for the usage and monitoring of business email services.
Specify that email conversations should focus on work activities, projects, and official business. Excessive non-work-related email is not permissible because it can provide unnecessary security risks.
Provide advise on setting strong passwords, rotating them on a regular basis, and avoiding password sharing. Encourage staff to create unique passwords for company accounts.
An email policy may also provide that in order to prevent insider threats, employees may be subject to monitoring of messages stored on the email server.
- Implement an advanced email filtering system. Invest in systems that can filter emails before they reach the end user. These systems monitor patterns, detect abnormalities, and constantly react to new threats, providing your employees with top-tier threat protection.
- Incorporate AI-powered tools into your email security stack. AI and ML provide new capabilities to the table. They can detect risks that traditional tooling may miss, preventing the most evasive and sophisticated threats from evolving into scary multi-stage attacks.
- Endpoint security. Ensure that the devices employees use to access email and network resources are secure. Install and frequently update endpoint security software. In addition, set up a password management policy and device encryption.
- Leverage email encryption. By encrypting emails, your firm protects sensitive data from interception and unwanted access. Encryption ensures that only the intended receiver can open and read the contents of messages.
This minimizes the likelihood of a bad actor attempting to parse data for social engineering reasons, as well as the probability of malware-based email attachment attacks, among other threat kinds.
- Provide employees with awareness training. Ensure that employees are well-informed about corporate security policies, their roles in maintaining organizational security, and the common sorts of attacks that they should be aware of, many of which include email.
Explain recommended best practices and provide contact information for cyber security personnel in case they have any concerns or come across anything suspicious.
- Opt for an email security solution that goes beyond email. Because email-based risks can spread horizontally across an organization, consider an email security solution that includes all collaboration channels, such as G Suite, Teams, Slack, and OneDrive.
While this isn't a proactive method of dealing with harmful emails, it will help you deal with them after they've been opened or clicked on
Develop an incident reaction plan. If your firm can respond quickly after learning of a threat, you may be able to avert significant damage and unforeseen costs.
Source: CyberTalk.org
