Following email security best practices is vital to the safety of your business. Email inboxes are very attractive to cybercriminals. As an easy point of access with an abundance of valuable information, they can be your company's most vulnerable point of attack. 92% of malware is delivered by email. Because poor email security practices account for the majority of breaches, your company's email security strategy should be given high priority in your network security plan.

When developing the proper strategy for email security, be sure to have these best practices in place. Once it is in place, make sure it is easy to understand. This will help you get employee buy-in and follow-though. Train employees on the importance of the policy and how staying vigilant will benefit them and the company in the long run.

EMAIL SECURITY BEST PRACTICES

1. ALIGN WITH CURRENT INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES

• Invest in antivirus software

• A secure email gateway that filters incoming and outgoing traffic. It also flags suspicious attachments.

• Invest in a secure archiving solution that uses encryption, user authentication and provides a multilayered approach to security.

• Create strong passwords and invest in multi-factor authentication.

• Be wary of every email attachment.

• Use 2 step authentication. 2-Step verification is usually done by requesting the user’s account password as well as a randomly generated verification sent to a trusted device.

2. UTILIZE EFFECTIVE TOOLS

Effective security tools will protect your business as well as minimize the amount of guessing for employees. Technical services such as filtering, anti-phishing, and encryption are a must. A filter that quarantines suspect email will help IT staff keep up to date with threats. You can also filter outbound going messages to make sure that no vital information is being leaked. Encryption applications allow sensitive information to be sent via email in an encoded message.

3. CONSIDER MOBILE PROTECTIONS

Does your staff use their own mobile devices at work? When working remotely, are they using work supplied devices or their own? Whether your team is accessing email via laptop or phone, if they aren’t using the company network or a VPN, trouble can arise. Utilizing cloud-based email security will help protect against those threats.

4. TRAIN, TRAIN, AND TRAIN AGAIN

No matter what industry best practices you are implementing and what safeguards you have in place, you weakest internet security link will be the human element. People make mistakes and slip up. We click links and buttons. By educating your employees for warning signs to look for and evidence of hack jobs, you will be better safeguarded. Reinforce this training with testing exercises as part of an ongoing business continuity plan.

Remind your staff of the following internet security tips:

• Use strong passwords and change them often

• Hover over links to see if they are legitimate

• Before clicking, type the link address into another browser

• Learn to recognize phishing emails and never respond to them

• Never open unexpected attachments without scanning

• Never use public WiFi to access company emails

• Never click the “unsubscribe” link in spam emails

• Remember that reputable businesses will not ask for sensitive information

5. REVIEW AND UPDATE REGULARLY

To ensure that your organization is protected after your email security plan is in place, regularly train your employees on email security so that they understand how important it is. By teaching employees, the risks of clicking on suspicious links and not using unique passwords, your company's email will be better protected and less vulnerable to hackers.