Email security refers to the practice of protecting email against potential cybersecurity threats. Phishing, account takeover, and other email-focused cyberattacks pose a significant risk to an organization, its employees, and corporate and customer data.
Email is a common target of cyberattacks due to its ubiquity and the relative ease of crafting a phishing campaign compared to other cyber threats. Protecting against the ever-evolving email threat requires advanced email security solutions.
Algumas das maiores ameaças à segurança do e-mail incluem:
Os ataques de phishing são as ameaças mais conhecidas e comuns à segurança de e-mail. Os ataques de phishing começaram com ataques como o scam do Príncipe Nigeriano, que eram conhecidos por sua gramática pobre e pretextos inacreditáveis. Com o tempo, esses ataques tornaram-se mais sofisticados, com os invasores enviando e-mails muito mais sofisticados e com pretextos mais plausíveis.
The modern phishing attack can be general or targeted. These targeted attacks, also called spear phishing attacks, are highly researched and designed to trick a particular person or group.
One example of a common spear phishing attack is business email compromise (BEC). In a BEC attack, the target is tricked into sending sensitive data — or more commonly money — to the attacker. BEC attacks have become one of the most significant and expensive phishing attacks that companies face. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), BEC attacks between the years 2013 and 2022 caused an estimated loss of $50 billion.
Email is an ideal delivery mechanism for malware. Malware can be attached directly to an email or embedded in documents that are shared as attachments or via cloud-based storage. And once installed on a computer, malware may steal sensitive information or encrypt a user’s files.
As contas de e-mail têm acesso a uma grande quantidade de informações confidenciais. Além dos dados enviados diretamente por e-mail, essas contas também são utilizadas para acessar infraestrutura baseada em nuvem e outros serviços online.
An attacker with access to these email accounts can gain access to all of this sensitive information, making email account credentials a common target of attack. Additionally, this information can be leaked by employees who accidentally include an unauthorized party on an email chain or fall for a phishing attack.
Links maliciosos são algumas das formas mais comuns pelas quais os cibercriminosos usam o e-mail como arma. Com um link incorporado em um e-mail, um invasor pode direcionar o destinatário para uma página da Web sob seu controle.
These phishing pages can be used for a variety of different purposes. Phishing pages can be designed to steal user credentials or deliver malware. Regardless, they can cause serious damage to an organization.
In an account takeover (ATO) attack, a cybercriminal gains access to a user’s email or other online account. This is usually accomplished by stealing the user’s login credentials via phishing, credential stuffing, malware, or similar means.
Once an attacker has control over a user’s email account, they can abuse it in various ways. For example, the user’s email might be used in a spear phishing attack, to send out spam, or to gain access to other accounts by requesting password reset emails to be sent to the compromised account.
Spam is unwanted email sent out via mass mailers. Spam can be used for various purposes, ranging from marketing efforts by legitimate companies to attempts to infect the target computer with malware.
Quishing is a form of phishing attack that uses QR codes. Emails will contain an image of a QR code, which, if scanned, will direct the user to a phishing site designed to harvest login credentials or infect their computer with malware.
Quishing attacks are designed to take advantage of the fact that a user is likely to scan the code presented in an email using the camera on their mobile device. Since personal smartphones are likely unmanaged by the company, this provides a means for the attacker to bypass the organization’s security controls.
Companies can use various email security services and solutions to protect against phishing and other email-related threats. Some common types include:
Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have multiple potential impacts for email security, including:
Email security services should provide protection against a wide range of email threats. Some key features of these solutions include the following:
O e-mail é um dos vetores de ataque mais comumente usados pelos cibercriminosos porque é fácil e eficaz. A proteção contra esses ataques também pode ser simples se uma organização e seus funcionários seguirem as práticas recomendadas de segurança de e-mail, incluindo:
Cybercriminals understand how vital email is to modern business, making an email security solution capable of detecting phishing, data loss, and other email-related threats, an absolute necessity.
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration provides state-of-the-art protection against common and emerging email threats. To learn more about its capabilities, request a demo. You’re also welcome to try it out for yourself with a free trial.