Dos and Don’ts about Email Security – Part 1

Overview

Email is an integral part of our lives. Email security is as essential as securing our home, workplace, and society from intrusions or attacks. According to recent worldwide statistics, in 2023, the number of emails communicated daily is 347.3 billion, a 4.3% increase from the previous year. This blog post is a 2-part series. In Part 1, we will explore Email Security and the best practices to ensure its effectiveness.

Need for Email Security

Email security protects email communications and data from unauthorized access, interception, or manipulation. Email, short for electronic mail, is the usual way of communication in both the personal and professional world, and it often contains sensitive or confidential information that requires protection. Email security measures typically involve a combination of technical and administrative controls, such as encryption, authentication, access control, antivirus and anti-spam filters, data loss prevention, and email archiving.

Encryption involves encoding emails’ contents so authorized recipients can only read them. Authentication verifies that the sender of an email is who they claim to be, and access control ensures that only authorized users have access to email accounts. Antivirus and anti-spam filters help protect against malware and spam emails, while data loss prevention measures help prevent sensitive information from being leaked.

These various measures are essential for organizations that meet legal or regulatory requirements and provide a record of email communications in case of litigation. Email security is critical to information security, as email is a common target for cyber-attacks and data breaches. Organizations can protect their sensitive data and communications from unauthorized access or theft by implementing strong email security measures.

Types of Email Attacks

• Malware: Malware, or malicious software, is intentionally crafted to disrupt, cause harm, or illicitly infiltrate computer systems or networks. In the context of email attacks, malware is often delivered as an attachment or a link within an email. Once a user engages with the attachment or activates the link, the malware can be installed on their device, resulting in detrimental outcomes like unauthorized device control, system compromise, or data theft.
• Phishing: Phishing represents a social engineering attack in which unscrupulous individuals impersonate trustworthy entities, such as banks, social media platforms, or reputable organizations, to trick recipients into disclosing sensitive information or performing specific actions. Phishing attacks often involve sending fraudulent emails that appear legitimate, requesting users to provide their login credentials, personal information, or financial details. The attackers exploit this information for nefarious purposes, such as identity theft or financial fraud.
• Spear Phishing: Spear phishing is an individualized variation of phishing attacks where cybercriminals tailor their emails to give the impression that they originate from a reliable source, such as a coworker, supervisor, or business associate. The emails are designed to deceive specific individuals or organizations into revealing sensitive information or performing certain actions.
• Whaling: Whaling is a phishing attack that specifically targets high-profile individuals, such as executives or people in positions of authority within an organization. Attackers craft convincing emails that appear to come from a senior executive or CEO, aiming to trick the recipient into disclosing confidential information or authorizing fraudulent transactions.
• Business Email Compromise (BEC): BEC attacks involve impersonating a high-ranking executive or a trusted business partner to manipulate employees into carrying out fraudulent actions. These attacks often target individuals responsible for financial transactions within an organization to redirect funds or initiate unauthorized wire transfers.
• Email Spoofing: Email spoofing involves forging the sender’s email address to make it appear that the email originated from a different source. Spoofed emails can be used for phishing, distributing malware, or launching other email-based attacks. The goal is to trick recipients into believing the email is from a trusted source.
• Malicious Attachments: Attackers may send emails containing malicious attachments, such as infected documents, executable files, or scripts. When users open or download these attachments, malware can be installed on their devices, compromising security, stealing information, or enabling remote control of the infected system.
• Zero-Day Exploits: Zero-day exploits target vulnerabilities in software or operating systems that are unknown to the vendor or not yet patched. Attackers send specially crafted emails containing exploit code, taking advantage of these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access or execute malicious actions on the recipient’s system.

Best Practices to overcome Email Attacks

Being cautious with email attachments and links is crucial for maintaining cybersecurity. Here are some essential steps to follow:

• Verify the sender: Take a moment to verify the sender’s identity before interacting with any attachments or links. Check the email address and ensure it matches the legitimate sender. Be cautious of email addresses that may seem slightly altered or unfamiliar.
• Exercise skepticism: Avoid unsolicited emails, mainly containing attachments or links. Look for red flags like grammatical errors, unusual requests, or urgent demands. If something seems suspicious, trust your instincts and proceed with caution.
• Legitimacy check: Consider the email’s legitimacy before opening attachments or clicking links. Does it align with your regular communication with the sender? Suppose it’s unexpected or out of context. In that case, it may be safer to double-check with the supposed sender by employing different means of communication, such as a phone call or a separate email thread.
• Scan for malware: Use reliable and up-to-date antivirus software to scan attachments for malware before opening them. Antivirus programs can help detect and block potentially harmful files, reducing the risk of infecting your computer or network.
• Hover before clicking: When encountering links in emails, hover the mouse cursor on the link without clicking it. This action will display the destination URL in a tooltip or at the bottom of your email client. Check if the URL matches the expected website or if it looks suspicious. Be cautious of shortened URLs that hide the actual destination.
• Enable email filters and security features: Enable spam filters and other security features provided by your email service provider. These features can help identify and flag potentially malicious emails before they reach your inbox.
• Stay updated: Keep your operating system, email client, and antivirus software updated with the latest security patches and updates. These updates often include security enhancements to protect against new threats.

Conclusion

Effective email security practices involve a combination of technical solutions, user awareness, and organizational policies. Encryption technologies, such as TLS or PGP, ensure email content remains confidential and protected from unauthorized access. To prevent unauthorized access to email accounts, robust authentication mechanisms such as 2FA provide an additional layer of security. Anti-malware and anti-phishing measures help detect and block malicious attachments, links, and fraudulent emails. Check out for Dos and Don’ts about Email Security – Part 2 here!

About CloudThat

CloudThat is an official AWS (Amazon Web Services) Advanced Consulting Partner and Training partner and Microsoft Gold Partner, helping people develop knowledge of the cloud and help their businesses aim for higher goals using best in industry cloud computing practices and expertise. We are on a mission to build a robust cloud computing ecosystem by disseminating knowledge on technological intricacies within the cloud space. Our blogs, webinars, case studies, and white papers enable all the stakeholders in the cloud computing sphere.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Email Security and I will get back to you quickly.

To get started, go through our Consultancy page and Managed Services Package that is CloudThat’s offerings.