On its most basic level, a secure email gateway is there to make it so incoming threats arriving via email don’t become catastrophic. There are several ways it accomplishes this, such as various built-in security protocols along with policy-based permissions and filtering. In today’s world where network dangers are lurking everywhere, there are several reasons why you need email gateway security.
Email Remains a Prime Attack Vector
For many people, the idea of a cybersecurity threat involves cutting-edge hackers in a dark room breaking into government and corporate databases. While there’s some truth to this, the reality is a bit less espionage, and more faux pas. Maybe the best evidence for this is the fact that email remains by far the most prevalent attack vector for network and device security breaches. A staggering 94 percent of malware arrives via email. Unless someone is incredibly unfamiliar with modern technology, few would probably argue email is on the bleeding edge of progress.
Despite this, email is an incredibly effective way for criminals to gain access to networks due to an important, unalterable weakness: human error and psychology. Only one employee needs to click the wrong link in order to set off a chain reaction of vulnerabilities being exploited. With a secure email gateway, however, this can be somewhat mitigated through a series of protections.
No Reason to See What’s Not Needed
Many people will agree you don’t need to see most things that arrive in your email inbox. While you might not necessarily want to see all the emails you’re getting, some of them are undoubtedly dangerous. This is where email gateway security comes into play.
With secure email gateway policy-based filters, it’s far easier for enterprises to keep the email inboxes of employees free from malicious messages. Email gateway security can automatically remove suspicious emails, and even set limits on what kinds of emails are able to reach end users. Organizations that do this can vastly lower the chances of someone falling victim to a phishing attack, or another kind of email-based attack.
Greater Control and Flexibility
As mentioned in the previous section, email gateway security can keep potentially harmful messages from even reaching employees. While this is going to be more straight-forward when it comes to obvious spam messages, it can get a bit more complex when attacks have a higher level of sophistication.
Due to this, it makes sense for organizations to have additional levers to pull if they want to boost the effectiveness of their email gateway security. For instance, employees within a certain permissions level might only be able to receive unsolicited emails from within the organization. This is only one example of a corporate policy that can enhance the overall security of email.
Triage Threats Before They Can Spread
Considering phishing and email are still the most prevalent ways of gaining unauthorized access to networks and spreading malware, it’s unwise to just set up some corporate policies and call it a day. While these will certainly have an effect, they’re not going to stop everything. People will make mistakes. It’s your job to be ready for this.
It’s smart to have additional monitoring and vulnerability management protocols working alongside your secure email gateway. This way, you’ll be more likely to cut off a threat before it’s able to penetrate your network. The costs of picking up after an attack are often more than they are to protect against them in the first place. Working with an organization that offers email gateway services can help your enterprise be more effective in this crucial area.
No matter the size or scope of your organization, you’re probably using email. A secure email gateway can make all the difference in defending against incoming threats.