When people think of email security they really only think of basic spam filtering that comes with whatever email service you use. They also know that these filters don’t prevent 100 percent of junk mail from reaching your inbox, but they’re fine with 90 percent.

Unfortunately, business leaders in the know can’t afford to have that 10 percent going out to their employees because they’re aware that all it takes is one unknowing employee to infect the entire office with malware or ransomware.

Stronger Email Protection

Cyber criminals breaching computers through spam emails is a tale as old as time, and even though there are more modern ways to hack someone nowadays it’s an old standby that will always continue to be used. Since they’ve had so much practice with it, hackers have become very adept at bypassing standard email filters and disguising their phony emails so the victim won’t even be suspicious that what they’re clicking is spam.

Once a hacker has access to your network, their prying eyes can see emails going to customers and between employees and all the data attached to those emails. However, businesses that have email encryption will never have to worry about this.

Some businesses only encrypt emails that go between employees, but emails really should be encrypted at every level. There should also be another level of encryption at the server level to provide even more security. Encryption prevents hackers from actually seeing the emails and what is stored on them. It’s not a preventative measure to stop hackers from getting to your network in the first place, but it is a safety net to make sure disaster doesn’t strike if they do.

Prevention is Key

As with anything, the best way to prevent something bad from happening is to be educated on it. Employees that click on links to fake websites or give out financial information on spam emails isn’t doing it because they want to hurt the company – the simply don’t know what they’re doing is dangerous.

Every employee needs to be trained on the importance of following proper email protocols. Here are some basic rules we stress to everyone that we work with:

• Verify the source of any email with an attachment. If not 100 percent sure of the sender, then do not click on the link.
• Do not respond to any email asking for personal information. If the IT department wants your login information they should ask for it in person. If HR wants information, then tell them you will stop by on your next break.
• No personal emails should be routed to corporate servers. If the employees want to have access to personal mail then they should open those from a non-corporate account.
• If an email looks risky, then do not forward it to the IT department. Have them come to your desk and analyze the risk locally.

TOSS C3 offers extra peace of mind for businesses who never want to worry about getting hacked through emails. Our SecureMail software is an in-flight and at-rest data encryption solution that exceeds all personal privacy regulatory requirements. Encrypted messages are delivered using your existing email address complete with timestamps and authentication for irrefutable proof of delivery and receipt. Call us anytime at 1-888-884-8677 to learn more about our services!