Your First Line of Defense Against Email Security Threats

When you ship an e mail, you anticipate it to succeed in the meant recipient with out alterations. But this does not all the time occur, as cybercriminals consistently attempt to hijack emails and trick folks into opening malicious attachments or clicking on hyperlinks that can ship malware onto their gadgets.


So how will you defend your self, household, associates, and staff? A safe e mail gateway may also help stop these threats.


What Is a Secure Email Gateway?

An illustration of email alert

Secure e mail gateways (SEGs) are safety measures put in place by e mail customers together with companies, company organizations, and governments to guard their inner e mail servers from potential cyberattacks. SEGs examine outbound and inbound emails for malicious parts, permitting customers to watch and management emails despatched out and obtained, and decide whether or not the emails needs to be processed as beforehand instructed.

Secure e mail gateways are stationed on the e-mail’s path, from the group’s e mail server to the general public web. The SEG scans all messages earlier than they go away or enter the server.

The principal objective of SEGs is to forestall undesirable and probably dangerous emails from getting access to your e mail servers. By doing so, SEGs maintain confidential info from cybercriminals, privatize knowledge, and encrypt delicate emails containing delicate info.

Emails or messages which can be probably dangerous embody:

Not to say numerous different social engineering assaults!

Furthermore, SEGs completely scan outbound emails and inner e mail communication between staff in order that delicate details about the enterprise does not get leaked. The emails are prevented from leaving the server if malicious content material is detected.

How Does a Secure Email Gateway Work?

Mobile phone receiving OTP

SEGs make use of a group of guidelines, which the system makes use of to scan and filter emails leaving or getting into the e-mail server. They stop dangerous content material in each inbound and outbound emails from entering into your community and gadgets.

Since SEGs function on the e-mail community and never the end-user gadgets, they’ll filter or scan emails earlier than getting into inboxes. For this cause, SEGs not solely defend inboxes; additionally they defend staff’ gadgets and supply strong safety to staff engaged on the community remotely.

SEGs scan the area of the inbound emails, their contents, and different attachments inside the e-mail for something malicious. After the scanning course of, if they do not comprise malware and are protected, the SEGs route the messages to the e-mail server after which to the consumer’s mailbox.

On the opposite hand, if inbound emails are malicious, the SEGs will quarantine or block them and maintain them in order that the system administrator can completely scrutinize them. They additionally analyze and filter outbound emails, and after they discover delicate knowledge leaving the e-mail community, they encrypt the information and block it from leaving the e-mail server.

What Features Do Secure Email Gateways Have?

Although all SEGs have distinctive performance and options, listed here are the primary security measures of SEGs.

Spam Filtering

emails flying all over the world

Spam filtering technology makes use of algorithms to quarantine or block spam from identified spam e mail domains. They additionally detect new emails containing particular patterns spammers use, akin to key phrases and malicious hyperlinks. Furthermore, if sure spam emails cross the gateway and enter the mailbox, this function permits customers to report the spam and block the senders.

Content Filtering

This function finds functions by way of outbound emails from inside an organization. SEGs stop delicate firm knowledge, like particular pictures, paperwork, or key phrases, from being despatched by way of e mail.

Malware and Virus Protection

SEGs additionally protect you from malware and viruses, which might infect your e mail community. They make use of antivirus expertise that scans emails and blocks or quarantines people who comprise viruses and different malware. You should consistently replace the antivirus software program to maintain up with the newest threats as a result of cybercrime frequently evolves.

Email Archiving

SEGs handle e mail providers. They assist retailer emails in order that your group can meet its knowledge administration and authorized compliance wants.

Phishing Protection

laptop with phishing icon on matrix background

SEGs safe companies from phishing attacks. They apply anti-fraud expertise to detect and cease sender spoofing. Additionally, SEGs use area identify validation to detect and stop phishing assaults and quarantine emails containing hyperlinks to phishing web sites.

Admin Control and Reporting

This function permits system directors to find out what occurs within the e mail community relating to quarantines and insurance policies. The system administrator can handle the e-mail safety community from a centralized dashboard.

Furthermore, the configurable and automatic SEG stories give system directors higher visibility over the e-mail safety platform. They can create guidelines to dam emails with sure key phrases or particular IPs or senders. Some SEGs even permit system directors to entry all of the quarantined emails for additional evaluation if needed.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Secure Email Gateway?

Here are some of the advantages of utilizing SEGs.

1. SEGs Prevent Phishing Attacks and Block Malicious Emails

Emails are one of essentially the most extensively used communication strategies within the office. Companies, companies, and company organizations interact their staff this fashion, which is why cybercriminals goal emails.

Providing your e mail community with SEGs reduces threats from malicious emails and phishing assaults. SEGs are your first protection towards spam emails, phishing assaults, and malware.

2. Protect Employee Emails Across Multiple Devices

Cartoon vector of lots of envelopes coming out of a screen with the Microsoft logo above

SEGs are integrated into the e-mail community, not put in on consumer gadgets. Therefore, e mail safety gateways will defend everybody who operates on the given community, whether or not they work inside the firm or remotely. This safety exists throughout a number of end-user gadgets.

3. SEGs Stop Sensitive Information from Leaving the Organization

SEGs scan messages despatched from the server earlier than they go away. That means, any e mail that comprises delicate info is blocked from leaving the community.

SEGs, by way of encryption and e mail archiving, assist companies fulfill authorized and compliance calls for. That’s as a result of SEG gives nearly countless storage in order that knowledge will be saved for years in case authorized motion arises.

Additionally, SEGs additionally present encryption for delicate knowledge inside the community. It ensures enterprise continuity; your operations can proceed even when your shopper collapses.

Limitations of Secure Email Gateways

SEGs have achieved a lot good. However, there are some drawbacks to this e mail safety resolution too. Here are a couple of limitations related to SEGs.

1. SEGs Are Defenseless Against Signature-Less Attacks

Secure e mail gateways can not defend your e mail server from assaults that lack signatures. That’s as a result of SEGs scrutinize e mail threats utilizing beforehand identified malicious content material, so firms are at better threat of zero-day attacks. Many profitable breaches these days are unknown or are new “zero-day” assaults not acknowledged by routine signature-based safety methods.

2. SEGs Can’t Protect Against Business Economic Compromise Attacks

BEC assaults are extremely subtle, so SEGs can not defend towards them. Cybercriminals spoof trusted manufacturers or co-workers’ names to trick staff into opening spam emails. They can camouflage themselves because the CEO and ship emails to harmless staff, who comply with the malicious directions to the letter, not figuring out they’re falling prey to a BEC assault.

3. Loss of Productivity

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man scratching head in front of security emails feature
Image Credit: Production Perig/Shutterstock

SEGs may scale back productiveness attributable to blocked or quarantined information. Some pressing emails could also be delayed or not delivered, and a few massive information could result in bottlenecks. This can result in frustration and hiccups within the workflow.

4. Confined to Email Attacks

SEGs discover functions primarily in e mail communication, however cybercriminals can assault from numerous sources. Businesses could calm down considering that SEGs provide safety in all ramifications, however they’re nonetheless uncovered to cyberattacks by way of the corporate portal, the net, and different routes.

5. Routine Upkeep and Maintenance

SEGs have to be consistently up to date to maintain up with the newest modifications in malware and spam strategies. These updates require cash, time, in depth IT assets, and extra, which will be tough, particularly for small firms and startups.

Keep Your Emails Safe Using Security Email Gateways

Cyber threats come within the type of phishing, spam, denial-of-service assaults, and extremely subtle BEC assaults.

And so, people, companies, company organizations, and governments ought to make use of SEGs to safe their emails from malicious entities in search of to steal knowledge and trigger different sorts of malicious hurt.

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