E-mail Threat Protection

Spam: Spam continues to be a major challenge for organizations even though a number of attempts have been made to filter out unwanted emails. While the most normal type of spam is simply considered a nuisance, spam is also frequently employed to deliver malware. For instance, ransomware is most commonly delivered through spam and thus alerts all organizations to carefully assess spam for dangerous intent.

Spoofing: In general E-mail lack efficient mechanisms for authenticating the true source and so hackers are able to use E-mail source addresses and domains that are very much like legitimate ones, tricking victims into believing that fraudulent E-mails they receive are from a trustworthy individual.

Ransomware: Mostly delivered through E-mails, ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s data and then demands a fee (usually via a Crypto Currency such as Bitcoin) to restore it. The motive for ransomware attacks is mostly monetary, and unlike other types of attacks, the victim of a ransomware attack is generally notified that an exploit has occurred and is given instructions on how to recover from the attack. 

Phishing: Phishing employs psychological manipulation to trick victims into revealing logon data or other sensitive information that Cybercriminals use or sell for malicious purposes. Generally, a phishing attack comprises of an authentic-looking sender and a message that is socially engineered. On average 40% of untrained employees can believe that the message is from a legitimate source and often end up opening infected attachments or clicking on malicious links.

Whaling: Business E-mail Compromise (BEC), also referred to as “Whaling”, target’s an organization’s biggest fish. In this type of social engineering scam, an attacker sends an email to someone in the organization that has the authority to execute financial transactions. The E-mail appears as if it is from the Managing director or another authorized individual, and demands a quick financial transaction such as a vendor payment, bank transfer, or direct deposit.

Key Loggers: Cybercriminals behind the most damaging data breaches often utilize stolen user credentials. A keylogger is considered to be one effective method used by these Cybercriminals to obtain passwords and IDs. This is mostly delivered by emails when victims unknowingly click on a malicious link or attachment.

Zero-Day Exploits: A zero-day vulnerability refers to a security weakness that is not known to the software developer. The security hole is exploited by hackers before the vendor has developed a fix. Zero-day attacks are mostly delivered through malicious emails, and hackers use them in order to gain unauthorized access and steal sensitive information.

Social Engineering: Social engineering is used by Cybercriminals in order to build trust before stealing confidential data or user logon credentials. In social engineering attacks, a Cybercriminal acts as a trusted individual and engages in a conversation to gain access to a company’s network. The attacker tricks the victim into disclosing passwords, IDs, and sensitive information, or forces them to unknowingly perform a fraudulent transaction.