Although emailing has been around for decades, it’s still one of the leading pillars of business communications. It’s used every day in the corporate world, and you can only imagine the steady stream of sensitive information that’s involved. That’s why understanding best practices for email security is crucial.
From individual device protection to the whole of your network security architecture, email is a part of the discussion. This article highlights several best practices for email security, from multi-factor authentication (MFA) to third-party protections, and more.
Why Business Email Security Matters
It’s no secret that companies are big targets for email security threats. With things like financial data, client info, and proprietary information, it doesn’t take much to do some damage. Even if it’s just a single email, that’s all many attackers need to gain access to many other parts of the network. Below, you’ll find other leading reasons as to why advanced email security matters for modern businesses.
- Emails are commonly exploited as entry points for large-scale attacks
- Financial impact can range from fraud, long-term recovery costs, and ransomware
- Breaches can lead to regulatory fines and issues with data security compliance
- Compromised emails can harm reputations and put jobs at risk
Secure networks are a must, far outside of the scope of emails alone. However, considering they’re a common entry point for bigger security issues, it’s highly advised to utilize the best email security possible. Of course, this is a layered approach, and there’s no single solution that’ll guarantee your business emails are protected.
Must-Have Business Email Security Best Practices
There’s plenty you can do to keep company emails secure, but it’s helpful to remember that changing technology comes with shifting security norms. Nevertheless, you can’t go wrong with multi-factor authentication, third-party solutions, or a layered network architecture. The best practices below offer a combined approach to cyber-attack prevention, and they consider more than just passwords and two-factor logins.
1. Updated Email Systems and Related Software
You can shut down most known vulnerabilities by making sure your email and any associated software systems are up to date. With the help of standardized patch management, you can support consistent protection across your entire organization. The scope of the updates you should focus on can include applications, servers, and endpoint devices that tie into your business emails.
2. Third-Party Email Security
This can come in many forms, whether it’s email hosting support, inbound and outbound protection, and more. A good example of where you can find this is in SonicWall’s email security solutions.
It isn’t just surface-level security measures you already have access to. These solutions focus on every layer of email security, from email appliances, data-loss prevention, multi-tenant security, and the list goes on.
3. Secure Email Configurations
If you weren’t already aware, there are numerous configurations in existing email services and applications you should be paying attention to. For example, it’s a good idea to disable auto-forwarding. This is a preventative measure for attackers aiming to redirect sensitive emails.
Outside of that, you can also utilize spam filters and domain authentication protocols like DKIM and DMARC, for example. You can effectively block a lot of phishing scams and spoofing this way, not to mention what encryption can do for you here. With necessities in compliance, email encryption should be a given, as it ensures any intercepted emails remain unreadable.
4. Strong Passwords and MFA
While these shouldn’t be the only security measures here, strong passwords and MFA are still pretty relevant. Every internal password should include more than just letters, such as a variety of special characters. It’s also helpful to utilize password managers. These can generate new logins at random and keep them stored behind an added layer of security.
MFA is there just in case those passwords are compromised. Moreover, this particular measure can be combined with your network security architecture to further mitigate compromising situations.
5. Employee Training
This might seem a bit old school, but employee training in this arena can go pretty far. External threats aren’t always the issue. Sometimes, an internal mistake can lead to a business-wide network risk that can get out of control.
Staff should be able to identify phishing attempts, considering they’re so common, in addition to suspicious attachments or added links. It only takes a single click for a network threat to snowball, and this can all stem from a single employee’s mistake.
Secure networks are made up of multiple layers, services, and tools. Between software and hardware support, the best email security starts with internal management of the situation. Another angle to consider is the rising prevalence of AI, which will inevitably lead to email security best practices adapting again over time.
The Final Word
Email will always be a critical component of the business world. Although best practices for email security have evolved over the years, some of these practices won’t be going out of style any time soon.
Make sure to regularly update email systems, enforce strong security policies, utilize MFA, and consider what third-party services have to offer. For those looking to revamp their email security strategy, the Firewalls team is always here. Set up a chat with us, and we’ll guide you to the advanced email security solutions that can support data and communications safety.
