We now live in a world of email – it has become a vital means of communication in the business world. The benefits of email have become far greater for us, as well as cybercriminals.
When a form of communication is efficient and accessible we become more susceptible to the threats below:
- Hoaxes
A scam used to create threats that can trick a user for personal information. The content is a hoax, which is a misleading that is used to shock or create fear. Scareware anyone? Exaggerating computer threats are the norm.
- Spam
Those who have been immersed in an enterprise email environment will find this common. This consists of mass advertising by an unknown sender. Spammers have crafted their message to maneuver through spam filters. These advertisements can contain malicious codes, scams, and phishing campaigns.
- Phishing Messages
Spam and phishing tactics are used together. These can often lead to spoofing an email message – using an advertisement to fraudulently collect the victim’s personal information. This includes passwords and credit/debit card credentials. These sites look similar to a trusted well-known company or person using a fake form submissions. This can often lead to identity theft and fraudulent charges.
- Malware Propagation
Lastly we have malware propagation. This is most common within email attachments. Malicious code can be embedded into your everyday Microsoft Office document. When it runs, it downloads Trojans from the internet. If the sender is from an untrusted source we must find the urge to quarantine the message.
Not only is email affected but there are other forms of communication, such as a text message or other forms of social media, used to exploit unsuspecting users. Cybercriminals are finding new techniques and methods as we speak. These cybercriminals are users just like you, doing day-to-day tasks knowing the ins and outs of email.
If our assumptions are correct – then your organization is most likely using some sort of email. We deal with problems as such on a daily basis. So what can we do to help our clients?
We secure the mail server application with recommendations towards patching and upgrading the mail server and mail client side operations. Whatever incident may occur – we can’t express how important backups are. Frequent backups will help maintain the integrity of the data. For a more in-depth review of your email infrastructure, contact QualityIP at (330) 931-4141, or send us an email: info@qualityip.com