Enterprise security has never been more important than it is today. As more data and operations move online, it’s essential for businesses to take time to keep these elements safe from dangerous parties. Email gateway security is one of the top ways organizations can accomplish this. With that in mind, here are some email gateway security 2020 best practices.
Why Is Email Gateway Security 2020 Important?
Many people underestimate the extent to which email is used to exploit vulnerabilities. Estimates say almost 95 percent of malware comes through email. Furthermore, over 80 percent of reported security events are phishing attacks perpetrated via email.
Email gateway security is a way for organizations to protect the email accounts of their employees. People spend a lot of time in email, and it’s not super difficult for an attacker to discover or guess email addresses. It only takes one employee falling for a phishing scam or other email threat to give hackers access to critical information. Secure email gateways use a variety of tools to filter and analyze incoming and outgoing emails to lower the chances of your business falling victim to an attack.
Use a Range of Security Tools and Protocols
Having the right lineup of tools in your secure email gateway is one of the most important considerations. You don’t want to cross the Atlantic on a dinghy. Similarly, your organization shouldn’t go up against potential online threats with inferior technology.
While phishing has been around a long time, it remains such a popular choice for scammers because of its effectiveness. Psychology is something that will always be easier to break than lines of code. Effective email gateway security needs to acknowledge this, and find ways to mitigate these risks as much as possible.
One of the best ways for enterprises to ensure they’re doing enough in terms of email gateway security is to hire a firm to manage it. These organizations are going to be highly knowledgeable, and know exactly how to employ the most modern defenses. Additionally, they’ll often provide troubleshooting, support, and monitoring to keep your email gateway security at its best.
Here are a few tools typically used by email gateway security providers:
- Filtering: You don’t need to see all the emails that make it to your inbox—especially the ones that have malicious intent. Filtering controls allow for different levels of restrictions on what emails can be sent to and from specific addresses. This can vastly lower the chances of a threat making it to your employees.
- Antivirus: Your organization should run antivirus software to keep networks as safe as possible from malware and other viruses. Secure email gateway providers employ unique antivirus tools to keep your organization safe.
- Phishing Safety: Phishing is a huge problem for enterprises because it can be difficult to detect for many users. Fortunately, there are some technologies designed specifically identify and divert phishing attacks.
- Reporting and Management: You want to have visibility and control when using a secure email gateway. In terms of management, administrators should be able to have some flexibility in determining how many controls and filters should be put in place to screen emails. The reporting aspect lets higher-level employees know exactly what’s going on with the secure email gateway.
Make Employee Education a Priority
Users are one of the biggest risk factors when it comes to network security. Threats evolve constantly and there’s always something on the horizon no one has seen before.
Employee education needs to be a big part of enterprise security, including those related to secure email gateways. Users need to be helped to understand the importance of vigilance when using email, as it’s one of the most effective ways for bad players to gain access to networks or devices.
Email will continue to be an essential element of communication. Unfortunately, those with bad intents are aware of this and take advantage of it. Employing secure email gateway best practices can reduce organizational risk.
