Email is the preferred method of communication used by the majority of businesses. Its ease of use, reliability, and adaptability mean that it’s not going to go away any time soon. The millions of emails being sent and received each day provide cybercriminals a massive attack area to exploit. This is why emails attacks are so widespread and businesses require the most effective email security tools to guard against these attacks. Here are a few types of emails they must be protected from.
Phishing
Cybercriminals make use of mails that seem to be from trusted sources to deceive recipients. People who receive the email unintentionally click an unintentionally legitimate link and then share their personal or financial details. A malicious email that attempts to trick users to click a link or opening a document, or performing any other act that is harmful, could be classified as a phishing scam. The majority of email-based attacks are a kind of the phishing.
A typical phishing message may claim to be from a service that which the recipient is using and state there’s a problem in the account, or that an unusual login activity been observed. The URL might look familiar to an individual who receives it however, it may differ in a small but not a significant way. To ensure you are on the safe option, go for a more sophisticated mail security solution, that can be easily implemented without altering your existing infrastructure, and protects against email phishing threats.
Spear Phish
Spear Phishing is a targeted attack in which customized emails are targeted to a particular person or business. While phishing employs an “net,” spear-phishing uses the “spear.” A cybercriminal does a thorough investigation into the person being targeted prior to and then sends the message. Spear phishing can be used to collect data to commit crimes and to inflict malware on computers.
The individual approach is specifically personalizes the email to ensure that even the most powerful executives can access emails that they believe to be secure. The traditional security techniques often fail to stop attacks like this since they are so individualized. They’re hard to detect and could have grave implications, like revealing sensitive commercial information.
Compromise in business email (BEC)
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is an extremely sophisticated form of Phishing. The attacker makes use of an impersonated, spoofed , or compromised corporate email address to appear as an organization. The attackers spend time studying the details that could enhance the credibility of their email messages.
One of the largest cyberattacks to date is an instance of BEC. It occurred from 2013 to 2015, when an Latvian cybercriminal gang swindled Google and Facebook out of millions of dollars by pretending to be their suppliers, and then sending fake invoices through email. The majority of BEC victims suffer substantial financial losses. As per FBI information from the year 2019, BEC attacks caused losses of $1.7 million.
CEO fraud
In a fraud on the CEO in a CEO fraud attack, the perpetrator impersonates an executive of the company and targets a junior employee. The email address used by the sender appears to be the executive of the company. Since CEOs are the ones who have the power to direct staff members to pay bills, such emails are a good option.
The sender exerts pressure on the recipient. A lot of these types of attacks involve fraud on wire transfers. For instance an email sent by a CEO may urgently ask employees to pay for the supplier’s “invoice” with new account information. Many employees will follow what the boss asks of them without asking questions.
Spam
Spam is an email that is not solicited that is usually utilized for marketing purposes. Based on Statista around 60% of all email traffic is comprised of spam.
The majority of spam is generated by multiple computers which send out large numbers of emails. The problem in spam is the fact that it takes up mailboxes , and can cause delays and reduces productivity. More serious is that it’s frequently employed to spread other malware. It is able to send misleading information, malware, and harmful hyperlinks in order to steal sensitive information.
A malicious Bot and attacks on DDoS
Many people have heard of bots. They are programs in software that execute automatized tasks. A computer that is infected by a bot may spread the infection to other devices and create the botnet. A botnet is a collection of devices connected to internet, infected by malicious software and controlled by criminals. Botnets are commonly utilized in large campaign of phishing and spam.
Botnets can also be used for DDoS attacks that are attempts to overburden systems. Many emails can be sent to one company, which disrupts the delivery of services, leads to losses , and creates the opportunity for different types of security threats. DDoS attacks on servers are more prevalent in B2C firms due to the fact that they rely on their websites to drive sales.
An attack on email server authentication
Sometimes, the inbox itself is an attack target. Hackers launch attacks on email servers through credentials stuffing, brute force and other techniques to gain access to servers. They gain access to all attachments and emails that are stored on the servers. Recently, security holes in the Microsoft Exchange Server were exploited by hackers, who are allegedly funded by China. Chinese state.
Preventing email attacks
Email attacks cause much more than downtime and disruption. They also result in financial loss, data loss reputational damage, customer change as well as losing market share.
The best way to prevent fraud via email is based on both technological and human aspects. Human error is the primary cause of security breaches which is why it is crucial to instruct employees in the most effective security procedures.
Making sure that malicious emails don’t get in the inboxes of users in beginning can help to tackle the issue. The need to prevent this has helped to boost the number of sales for advanced security for email. These are services that can block and detect fraudulent emails, fake addresses, malicious URLs and attachments from the gateway to email.
Bottom line
It is vital to secure email for businesses since work inboxes are full of confidential business information including financial and operational details. These days, email attacks are growing to the point where they can deceive many users. Businesses can be afflicted with a amount of harm due to email-related attacks, and should be prepared to stop them in the maximum extent possible. This means educating their employees on cyber security and utilizing the most effective security software.
