People think of email as a relic from the early days of the internet, but it’s still the most popular and trusted form of corporate communication. But, with one in every 99 emails containing a malicious threat, businesses must consider email security risks in their digital transformation strategy.

Even built-in security measures aren’t enough. A 2019 report from cloud security firm Avanan revealed that 25% of phishing emails are able to bypass Office 365’s email filters.

Here are a few email threats that could compromise your data security, and how to protect against them.

Phishing

Phishing is one of the most common ways to gain access to sensitive data. But what does it look like?

A sophisticated phishing email may look like any regular email, and it’s created to look that way. It’s designed to trick users into giving up personal information or access to the network, masquerading itself as a log-in email or a reply from a colleague. IT security research has revealed that nearly half of executives fall victim to phishing attacks.

The easiest way to counter phishing is to organize regular training workshops for anyone who has access to your network.

Trojans

Approximately 1 in 99 emails contain a malicious attachment such as a Trojan. They are activated when a user clicks a link or opens an attachment, but email clients with scripting features can inadvertently trigger the virus just by opening the message.

If you’re unsure about the origin of an email, adjust your email client’s settings to enforce plain text view when opening an email. It’s also vital that you invest in email security software with firewalls and email filtering to flag threats before they arrive in the inbox.

Spoofing

There have been rising cases of cyber criminals hacking into real corporate accounts and emailing customers, pretending to be an employee of that organization. This is just one of many sophisticated email attacks cyber criminals have perfected in recent years.

Once the threat actor has access to the network, they may also gain access to sensitive data such as medical records, bank information, and personal details.

How to protect your emails

In the face of digital threats, safer communication has never been more important. Nextcloud makes it easier for teams, businesses, and organizations to communicate and collaborate, while Sendent ensures that the emails you send (and the data in them) are kept secure.

Sendent is an Outlook plug-in that helps you share files and folders and send emails safely and securely. It is connected to your private cloud instance on Nextcloud where your data is securely stored. With your data stored on Nextcloud and securely managed by The Good Cloud, Sendent completes the experience by offering secure email communication for users and enterprises.

Visit the Sendent website to know more.