Managed IT Service Provider in Wake Forest Shares Importance of Email Security For Businesses
Email security in small and medium-sized companies is one of the areas that is often overlooked. But it’s essential to have it in place in the event of a cyber-attack. The vast majority of cyber attacks start with a phishing email.
Local managed IT service provider, Mobile Computer Services, suggest 5 things that Businesses in Wake Forest need to keep in mind when it comes to email security:
1. The Number of Email-Based Attacks is Likely to Rise
Phishing scams are on the rise. It’s an easy, cheap way to get in touch with people, and no-one is immune. Over half the world’s population has at least one email address, and because most people check their mail regularly, an email inbox is a perfect place to launch a cyberattack.
2. Finance Companies in Wake Forest are Particularly at Risk
The number of phishing attacks targeting financial institutions is rising, doubling year on year. But only a small fraction of these businesses are choosing to implement security initiatives to protect their networks and guard against attacks.
3. Small and Medium Size Companies are Particularly Vulnerable to Attack
It’s often in the news when big corporates are the targets of malicious cyberattacks, but just because smaller businesses aren’t making the news, doesn’t mean that they’re not the victims of attacks. The vast majority of cyber attacks are targeted at businesses with fewer than 100 employees, often because they have fewer security measures in place and often employees are not equipped for attacks.
4. Employees Lack Education and Training Around Cyber Attacks
The sheer volume of emails that get sent on a daily basis is astounding – with a conservative estimate putting the number at nearly 300 billion emails every day. And the scary news is that over 50% of those emails are spam. These numbers mean it’s essential that users be able to spot the difference between a real and a fake email. Companies, therefore, need to be taking proactive steps to ensure that employees are fully educated on the dangers of email phishing and ransomware. They also need to be equipped to be able to correctly identify emails that are not legitimate.
5. A Trusted Web Filtering Solution is Recommended
Regardless of how well employees are educated about spotting and deleting spam emails, there will always be those that slip through the net. Humans make mistakes, and there needs to be a safety net in place to protect companies. This is where a web filtering solution is essential.
When a user clicks on a phishing email, there is often an attachment that is downloaded. This download will contain malware that has the potential to infect your computer network. Web filtering prevents the attachment from accessing the internet-based malware as it works by blocking malicious websites.
With the number of cyberattacks set to increase in the future, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, companies need to take steps to ensure that they are protected. Data breaches are estimated at more than $3 million, without factoring the costs for increasing network security and the impact on the brand.
Email inboxes will continue to be attacked because of the ease with which hackers are able to bypass network security measures. This makes it essential to secure your email, educate employees and put a safety net in place.
Often the response of businesses is to hire more IT professionals, but that cost can be difficult to absorb, and the new IT employee may not have the benefit of years of experience, particularly in IT security. This makes it an excellent choice to partner with an outsourced IT service provider. That way the costs are easy to predict, and you can benefit from years and years of specialist IT security experience.
Mobile Computer Services in Wake Forest specializes in helping small businesses with their IT support needs which include email security for clients, offering a range of services designed to protect the company’s IT network from attack.