Communicating via email is still the preferred form of communication for most businesses. Its convenience, reliability and flexibility mean it isn’t going away anytime soon. The hundreds of billions of emails sent and received every day give cybercriminals a huge attack surface to exploit. This is why email attacks are so prevalent, and companies need the best email security solutions to protect against them. Here are some of the types of email attacks they need protection from.
Phishing
Cybercriminals use emails that appear to come from reputable sources to trick recipients. Recipients unwittingly click on an apparently legitimate link and share personal or financial information. Any malicious email that tries to trick recipients into clicking a link, opening a file, or taking any other action that causes harm, can be defined as a phishing attack. Most email attacks are some form of phishing.
A common phishing email will claim to come from a service provider the recipient uses and say that there’s a problem with the account or that suspicious login activity has occurred. The URL may look familiar to a recipient, but it will differ in some small, apparently insignificant way. To be on the safer side, you must opt for an advanced email security solution, which is easy to deploy without changing existing infrastructure and will protect against email phishing attacks.
Spear phishing
Spear phishing is a targeted phishing attack where customized emails are sent to a specific individual or business. While phishing uses a “net,” spear-phishing uses a “spear.” The cybercriminal conducts research into the target before sending the email. Spear phishing is used to capture data to use for malicious purposes and also to install malware on computers.
The individually designed approach carefully personalizes the email so that even top executives may open emails they think are safe. Traditional security methods often don’t stop attacks like this because they are so customized. They are difficult to detect and can have serious consequences, such as revealing commercially sensitive information.
Business email compromise (BEC)
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is basically an advanced form of phishing. The attacker uses an impersonated, spoofed or hacked corporate email address to impersonate a business. Attackers invest time in studying information that can make their emails more credible.
One of the biggest cyberattacks ever is an example of BEC. It happened between 2013 and 2015 when a Latvian cybercrime gang scammed Google and Facebook out of millions by impersonating their suppliers and sending fake invoices via email. Most BEC attack victims suffer significant financial losses. According to FBI data from 2019, BEC attacks caused losses of $1.7 million.
CEO fraud
In a CEO fraud attack, the attacker impersonates a senior company executive and targets a less senior employee. The sender’s email address seems to be that of the company executive. As CEOs have the authority to instruct staff to make payments, such emails can work well.
The sender puts pressure on the recipient, and many of these kinds of attacks involve wire transfer fraud. For example, a CEO fraud email could urgently request an employee to pay a supplier’s “invoice” using new account details. Many employees will do what a boss requests of them without asking any questions.
Spam
Spam is an unsolicited email that is often used for advertising purposes. According to Statista, approximately 60% of the world’s email traffic consists of spam.
Most spam comes from multiple computers that send out bulk emails. One problem with spam is that it clogs up mailboxes and wastes time and productivity. The more serious problem is that it is often used to spread other threats. It can send deceptive content, malware and harmful links in an attempt to obtain sensitive information.
Malicious Bot and DDoS attacks
Most people are familiar with bots which are software programs that perform automated tasks. A computer with an infected bot can spread it to other devices and form a botnet. A botnet is a group of devices connected to the internet, infected with malware and controlled by cybercriminals. Botnets are often used in huge spam and phishing campaigns.
Botnets are also used in DDoS attacks, which are attempts to overload systems. Thousands of emails may be sent to a single organization which interrupts the provision of services, causes losses and opens the door for other types of threats. DDoS attacks on web servers are more common in B2C businesses because they use their websites for generating sales.
Authentication attacks on email servers
Sometimes the inbox itself is a target. Attackers will launch attacks on email servers by using credential stuffing, brute force and other methods to gain access to the servers. This grants them access to all the email messages and attachments stored there. Recently, vulnerabilities in a Microsoft Exchange Server were exploited by hackers allegedly sponsored by the Chinese state.
Preventing email attacks
Email attacks cause far more than disruption and downtime. They also cause data loss, financial losses, reputational damage, customer churn and loss of market share.
The solution for preventing email fraud is based on both human and technological factors. Human error is a significant factor in most security breaches so it is important to train employees in best security practices.
Preventing malicious emails from arriving in the inboxes of users in the first place can also help to deal with the problem. The desire to do this has served to increase the sales of advanced email security services. These services are able to detect and block phishing emails, spoofed addresses, malicious URLs, and attachments at the email gateway.
The bottom line
Securing email is crucial for organizations because work inboxes contain all kinds of sensitive business information, including operational and financial information. Today email attacks are progressing to the stage where they can fool many recipients. Organizations can suffer a great deal of damage as a result of email attacks and need to take measures to prevent them as much as possible. This involves training their employees in cyber security and using the best security software solutions.
