A robust security strategy has many moving parts, as businesses need to build a cybersecurity architecture to protect from myriad threats. With business communications taking place through many channels, email security is often overlooked. That is, until it's too late.

Instead of waiting until a security incident thrusts email into the spotlight, organizations must be proactive and address email security risks. If you're still not quite convinced of the urgency of email security in the modern era, here are 7 reasons why you can't afford to look the other way:

1. Email is Here to Stay

In a digital-first world, convenience and risk go hand-in-hand. As society and business become easier to navigate thanks to digital tools and processes, so grows the risk to these platforms. While SaaS products pave the way for new forms of business communication, email is here to stay.

Sure, it's true that email is no longer the center point of business communications. But not including email in your cyber strategy would be like declaring phones obsolete simply because we're using them in different ways. Email is not dead, it has just evolved. Slack may be best for quick conversations, but email remains the go-to for sending important files and data and is still the easiest way to keep track of conversations.

2. Cyber Criminals Are More Creative Than Ever Before

Cybercrime is big business, and the allure is calling criminals worldwide to hit the proverbial jackpot. Unfortunately, it's working. Email cyberattacks alone grew nearly 50% in the first half of 2022, including a 150% increase in Business Email Security attacks.

Once upon a time, email crime was easy to spot: a prince has an inheritance for you, you deserve a payout from a class action lawsuit you didn't even know about, or you need to input your details right now for a special offer you can't refuse! Emails written with poor spelling, mismatched fonts, and a slew of emojis would tip off most recipients and inbuilt spam filters.

Now, criminals are more cunning than ever. Phishing, spearfishing, malware, and spoofing messages are all cleverly disguised. The payout potential is big, so criminals invest more time and effort into their attempts.

3. Business Email Compromise is a Rising Trend

If you're a security professional, you've heard of business email compromise (BEC). This approach has picked up steam in recent years. Since 2016, a staggering $43 billion has been stolen in BEC attacks.

Business email compromise is a sophisticated scam that relies on social engineering to be successful. There are a few key approaches to BEC attacks:

• Bogus invoices in which the criminal pretends to be a supplier and issues an invoice to a company or recipient.
• CEO fraud occurs when the criminal pretends to be a CEO or other executive and contacts the finance department to make a payment or transfer.
• Data theft targets HR or payroll departments to gain personal employee or account information that can be used in future attacks.
• Account compromise begins with a cybercriminal gaining access to an end user's email account, then using it to make fraudulent requests, including sending invoices to suppliers or partners.

4. Phishing is Big Business

A reported 2.94% of employees will click on a link in a malicious email. If that number seems inconsequential, keep in mind that it only takes one employee to fall for a fishing request to cost your company a lot of time and money to recover.

Cybercriminals who launch phishing attempts have your data in mind. They know that data is king in the modern era and that companies will pay huge ransoms to recover sensitive information. The average cost of a data breach in the US is $9.44 million, and bad actors worldwide all want a share of the bounty.

5. Your Employees Are Gatekeepers of Your Data

As you can see, many email security risks leverage end users to exploit vulnerabilities. Creating a risk-aware culture is the foundation of a robust email security strategy. Keeping your employees abreast of risk trends and ensuring they know what to look out for will help lower the potential for human error.

Protecting end-user accounts is also crucial, as access to accounts and permissions can prove detrimental to organizations. Stringent password requirements, 2-factor authentication, and well-designed permission levels will ensure that accounts are protected, and only necessary users have privileged access in the case of a breach.

6. Hybrid and Remote Workforces Are Particularly Vulnerable

Not all email security risks rely on social engineering tactics to be successful. With employees moving to fully remote or hybrid work models, new vulnerabilities appear. Organizations embracing distance work options must understand that employees may not always work from home. The potential to connect through insecure networks - like a favorite local cafe - is high, and businesses must be prepared.

As VIPRE Security states, "your email client resides on your network, and if there are any points of weakness, it can lead to an email database goldmine on the other side. Securing email includes securing the routes that lead there."

7. It's Easy to Overlook, Yet Easy to Implement

As with any security aspect, it's easy to have it could never happen to me mentality. For many organizations, big security discussions are on tomorrow's to-do list, not realizing that tomorrow never comes - until it comes with a costly breach.

Thankfully, it's easy to build a security frontline to protect your network, data, and end users from email attacks. To start, maintain a firewall and encrypt all email communications. Raise awareness by building a risk-aware culture to make cybersecurity a common (and empowered) conversation. Hire a knowledgeable and dedicated security team, get the best tools and security software on your side, and avoid becoming another statistic.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Having spent her career in various capacities and industries under the "high tech" umbrella, Stefanie Shank is passionate about the trends, challenges, solutions, and stories of existing and emerging technologies. A storyteller at heart, she considers herself one of the lucky ones: someone who gets to make a living doing what she loves. Stefanie is a writer for Bora.