Blog

13 Must-have Features of Email Security Services

July 26, 2022
Data Protection, IT Security

While messaging apps are increasingly commonplace in the business world, email still reigns as the primary communication vehicle. That makes the following statistics disturbing ─ and the need to address them with appropriate email security solutions compelling.

As noted in Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report, email is:

• One of the top two vectors for data breaches (web applications comprise the other)
• 35% of ransomware incidents involve the use of email

Mimecast’s Confronting the New Wave of Cyberattacks: The State of Email Security 2022 further notes that:

• 96% of its survey respondents had been the target of an email-related phishing attempt
• 79% reported an increase in email volume at their organization, and 72% also said the number of email-based threats had risen during the past 12 months
• 79% reported that their organization suffered a Microsoft 365 email outage in the past year, with 30% characterizing it as severe
• 81% pointed to misuse of personal email as the worst security mistakes made by their employees

According to US Signal’s 2022 Security Census, email security is such a concern for organizations that they rank email protection among the top three technologies of importance to their security practice.

Read Now: Email Security Risks by the Numbers

What’s Optimal for Email Security

Fortunately, there are a lot of options for email security solutions on the market. But as is always the case with technology solutions, not all email protection is the same. While every organization has its unique email security needs, these 13 capabilities can help deliver more comprehensive, rigorous email protection.

+ PROTECTION BEFORE THE INBOX

Crucial: The solution should protect users from email threats before they get to their inboxes.

+ ZERO-DAY DETECTION

Sandboxes and similar tactics usually scan at the application level, relying on known data or behaviors. A zero-day attack starts at the CPU level, so solutions that leverage CPU-level data to catch the attack at the exploit level are far more effective.

+ ANTI-BEC PROTECTION

The solution should be able to identify spoofing attempts by assessing the alignment between key email security declarations held in the customer’s DNS record, such as DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), along with DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions).

+ ANTI-EVASION

The solution should be able to detect and mitigate the evasion techniques used by cybercriminals.

+ ATP CAPABILITIES

Advanced threat protection (ATP) signifies protection beyond known threats with familiar signatures. It protects against impersonations, zero-day attacks, weaponized links and attachments, and credential phishing campaigns that target sensitive data, among others.

+ IN-DEPTH THREAT INVESTIGATION

An advanced email security solution should take a broad and deep look at each message, as well as any attachments and links, to investigate cyber threats that may combine several attack types.

+ IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

Breaking apart the original packaging of each email and any attachments is critical. Each individual element should be checked for threats in deep analysis of several nesting levels.

+ 100% DYNAMIC SCANNING OF CONTENT

Static checks, like signature-based detection, have their place. But it’s also important for email security solutions to actively scan content, detonating a file or a URL on a virtual machine to check it in real-time.

+ URL SCANNING

Time is of the essence, so the solution should quickly check URLs against known malicious sites, visit the destination sites, recursively scan for threats, evaluate domain registration recency and provenance, and check for lookalike and soundalike domain names.

+ FILE FUNCTIONALITY POST-SCAN

Files should be checked recursively for embedded and hidden threats, Once marked as benign, they should be delivered to end users as fully functional as possible. Users receiving broken files will revert to unsanctioned tools that bypass security checks, opening the door to more security threats.

+ ADVANCED THREAT INTELLIGENCE

Email security that incorporates threat intelligence from multiple sources delivers more comprehensive protection against emerging email-borne dangers, and can quickly render new threat campaigns ineffective.

+ THREAT DETECTION ACCURACY

An advanced email security solution with high detection rates and low false positives is crucial for gaining users’ trust.

+ REPORTING

Reporting capabilities offer a regular stream of updates, to help organizations understand the types of threats they are subject to (and protected from), which can aid in their own efforts to strengthen defenses. Reporting also reinforces the need for and efficacy of current security capabilities, which aids with customer retention and safeguards your recurring revenue streams.

US Signal Advanced Email Security

US Signal’s Advanced Email Security offers the 13 capabilities cited and much more – like the power of its wholly-owned, secure network and PCI- and HIPAA-compliant infrastructure. It also stands out among other email security solutions because it's supported by US Signal’s team of experienced security and compliance specialists and the 24/7/365 expert support provided by US Signal’s Technical Operations Center (TOC).

To learn more about email security, particularly what US Signal has to offer, take advantage of these free resources or contact us for more information. Call (866) 274-4625 or email [email protected]

eBook: AVOID BEING ANOTHER STATISTIC WITH US SIGNAL’S ADVANCED EMAIL SECURITY

Checklist: WHAT'S IN YOUR EMAIL SECURITY SOLUTION?