Email Security Issues
Concerning security and cybersecurity, email security issues are risks, vulnerabilities, and difficulties related to email systems, protocols, and practices that might jeopardize the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of email messages and the systems in question. Some common email security issues include:
Phishing: Phishing attacks are deceptive attempts to obtain private information by posing as a reliable source in an email exchange. This information may include login credentials or financial information. Phishing emails frequently include harmful links or files meant to fool recipients into divulging private information or doing activities that could jeopardize security.
Malware Distribution: Malicious actors use email as a vector for distributing malware, such as viruses, ransomware, and trojans, through malicious attachments or links embedded in emails. Once opened or clicked, these attachments or links can infect the recipient's device or network, leading to data breaches, system compromises, or financial losses.
Spam: Unsolicited bulk emails, commonly known as spam, inundate email inboxes with irrelevant or unwanted content, including advertisements, scams, and malicious links. Spam wastes resources and is a potential vector for phishing attacks and malware distribution.
Email Spoofing: Forging the sender's email address to make it seem like the email came from a reliable source is known as email spoofing. Phishing attacks, business email compromise (BEC) schemes, and impersonation attempts frequently use spoof emails to trick targets into doing unwanted actions or divulging private information.
Business Email Compromise (BEC): BEC attacks target organizations to deceive employees into transferring funds, disclosing sensitive information, or initiating fraudulent transactions by impersonating executives, vendors, or other trusted entities via email. BEC attacks often rely on social engineering tactics to manipulate recipients into bypassing security controls.
Data Leakage: Inadequate email security measures may result in the unintentional disclosure or leakage of sensitive information through email communications. It can occur through accidental email forwarding, misaddressed emails, or insecure email protocols, leading to compliance violations, reputational damage, or financial consequences.
Lack of Encryption: Emails exchanged across insecure channels risk being intercepted and eavesdropped on, which could reveal private information to uninvited parties. Email exchanges that aren't encrypted run a higher risk of privacy infractions and data breaches.
Addressing email security issues requires implementing a layered approach to email security, incorporating technologies such as email filtering, encryption, authentication mechanisms (e.g., SPF, DKIM, DMARC), user awareness training, and incident response procedures. Additionally, organizations should regularly update and patch email systems, enforce strong access controls, and monitor email traffic for suspicious activities to mitigate the risks associated with email security threats.
External Attack Surface Management (EASM), Digital Risk Protection (DRP), and security ratings solutions like ThreatNG with Domain Intelligence, Subdomain Intelligence, and Certificate Intelligence play crucial roles in enhancing email security by providing comprehensive visibility into an organization's digital footprint, identifying potential email security risks, and assessing the trustworthiness of email domains and certificates. For example, ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence can identify all email domains associated with an organization, including those susceptible to email spoofing or phishing attacks. Subdomain Intelligence can further pinpoint subdomains that might be used for malicious purposes, such as hosting phishing landing pages. Certificate Intelligence can analyze digital email server certificates, identifying issues such as expired certificates or certificates signed by untrusted Certificate Authorities. When integrated with complementary security solutions like email security gateways, anti-phishing tools, and email authentication mechanisms (e.g., SPF, DKIM, DMARC), ThreatNG can facilitate seamless handoffs by providing actionable intelligence and alerts. For instance, if ThreatNG detects a suspicious email domain or certificate, it can trigger alerts in the email security gateway, blocking or quarantining emails originating from the identified domain, thereby mitigating the risk of phishing attacks or email spoofing. This collaborative approach strengthens an organization's email security posture and reduces the likelihood of successful email-based cyberattacks.
