Email Protection for your business
Infamously, the most popular security threat at the moment is a Ransomware threat named Cryptolocker. The spread of this threat has been mostly associated to users opening emails with a link to a site which will run the program – in this case encrypting all of your files and potentially the whole business network with a request for payment to decrypt the files.
Just recently, on 25th April 2016 a Michigan electricity utility company was reduced to closing all of its systems due to a successful phishing attack.
Email anti-virus will not protect you entirely from these threats. The issue, as discussed in last month’s Tech Issue, is the user clicking on a link that, although looks legitimate, is not. The only true method of avoiding this is to NOT CLICK THE LINK.
Sophos have, however, taken a step towards eliminating this threat by intercepting emails which contain suspicious URLs (web links). Again Sophos deploy real time updates to detect the latest threats with their PureMessage product which scans all email both in, out and inside the business.
All anti-virus and anti-spam services protect against the multitude of virus threats developed to cause havoc on an almost daily basis. Significantly these types of threats will cause acute pain to the business, even if one single user has an issue the time lost and potential cost of repair is painful.
Another area of cost to a business is email spam. The sheer amount of junk email is disruptive in itself and can cause productivity losses and indeed some content can be upsetting to staff. anti-spam filters as much as 99% of spam at source (the email server) to reduce both network load of the traffic of all this spam across the network and to reduce labour time to sift through the messages. Importantly, users or the IT team can manage the filters and either adjust to reduce the false positives or setup whitelists to ensure customers and suppliers’ emails are received.
These products and services will both reduce risks to the business and help increase productivity – the low cost subscriptions are attractive against the significant damage the security threats can cause to a business and most providers allow for some form of selective proposition so you receive the best from the product set.
However, it is imperative that business owners and team managers are aware that although the security software plays an important role in the reduction of risks to the business, there are simple measures that need to be put in place by discussing the importance of email and data security with your staff and how to avoid the risks.
If you are interested in any of the Sophos solutions or would like more information please contact us. If you are unsure whether Sophos is suitable for your business, then you can always trial any of the Sophos solutions for 30 days.