- Email is the #1 attack vector, responsible for 90% of phishing incidents.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks led to $3 billion in losses in 2023.
- A multi-layered email security solution like Trustwave MailMarshal can reduce risks effectively.
Fact: An organization of any size has employees that receive email.
Fact: Threat actors, with the help of apps like ChatGPT, are becoming more efficient at creating compelling phishing emails.
Fact: The law of averages mandates an attack will succeed when a staffer is fooled and opens a malicious email or clicks on the wrong link.
Fact: A robust email security strategy, which includes a Secure Email Gateway, is a must to protect against email-borne attacks.
Email remains the number one attack vector, with about 90% of organizations hit by phishing attacks in the past year.
According to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, phishing attacks were by far the most common cyber threat variant, with almost 300,000 incidents. Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, while fewer, at just over 21,000, incurred nearly $3 billion in losses.
The positive takeaway is the FBI noted that compared to 2022, phishing attacks were down in 2023, while the number of BEC attacks remained about flat, but monetary losses rose.
Preventing Phishing Attacks: The Necessity of Email Security
The FBI’s numbers prove the need for a robust email security strategy as being essential to protect against evolving phishing and BEC threats.
Despite ongoing employee training, attackers persist in exploiting human error with increasingly sophisticated methods, successfully bypassing basic defenses and directly targeting individuals. Implementing an advanced, multi-layered email security solution is crucial for identifying and intercepting these threats before they reach employees, thereby minimizing the risk of costly data breaches and financial losses.
Is Your Email Security Prepared for Phishing and BEC Threats?
Every organization needs to ask itself whether it’s buttoned up from an email security perspective. Trustwave has found that too many organizations still treat email security as a “check-the-box” exercise, believing a single solution will keep them secure.
A common response from security leaders to our questions concerning this topic is, “Of course, we have email security!”
Our answer is, “Almost every breached organization had an email security product in place — meaning basic protection alone isn’t enough.”
Now, with that bit of information under our collective belt, let’s look at why some organizations don’t opt to adopt better email security.
Trustwave has found that this is not a deliberate action. Organizations don’t leave their employees exposed to cyberattacks on purpose, but most don’t take the necessary steps to optimize their email security posture in a meaningful manner.
Here are the three primary reasons we commonly must address and why the organizations are drawing the wrong conclusions:
- Perceived Sufficiency of Current Solutions: Most security leaders assume their single email security solution is good enough.
Correction: No single product offers 100% protection. Every vendor and security professional understands this fact. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t realize that reducing risk from their primary threat vector is relatively easy and cost-effective.
- Prioritization: With the “perceived sufficiency” of their current email solution, the need for more or higher quality email security is often scratched off the to-do list and prioritized.
Correction: The job of a security leader is to reduce operational and business risk from cyber threats. By further minimizing malicious email traffic, you significantly contribute to that goal and reduce the likelihood of an employee taking an action on a malicious email and exposing your organization. Your cyber security architecture should consider layered email security, including a Secure Email Gateway, as part of the security effectiveness continuous improvement plan.
- Cost Concerns: Many organizations understand the principle of defense in depth but still tend to take a ‘one and done’ approach to email security, given budget constraints.
Correction: This is a case of penny wise and pound foolish. While the question of cost itself is reasonable, one must consider the ever-increasing amount of regulation and compliance an organization must meet to prove adequate diligence to reduce risk and prevent breaches. However, a layered approach to email security can be accomplished for pennies on the dollar relative to other security measures. Then there are potential savings in regulatory fines and potential recovery costs from a successful attack.
The Case for Trustwave MailMarshal Email Security
- MailMarshal Stops Most Malicious Emails from Reaching Your Employees
Powered by advanced AI, MailMarshal is a Secure Email Gateway that blocks phishing, BEC, and malware threats that other solutions overlook, including complex threats hidden in images and QR codes.
- A Cost-Effective Way to Reduce Risk
MailMarshal provides significant additional protection for the price of a couple of cups of coffee per user per year.
- MailMarshal Provides Immediate Proof of Value
Justifying the cost is important and MailMarshal’s reporting tools and the use of MailMarshal’s Advanced Phishing Scanner will show stakeholders how this investment has significantly reduced data breach risk through phishing attacks.
- Enhance Compliance Through Proactive Email Security
Regulators expect organizations to demonstrate they have proactive measures in place to minimize risk and limit potential impacts from email-based threats.
- Relieves Pressure on the Security Team
MailMarshal is a “set it and forget it” solution, captures over 99.9% of email-based threats, maintains a false positive rate of less than 0.01%, reducing the time spent on investigating benign alerts, and is continuously updated with the latest threat intelligence from the elite Trustwave’s SpiderLabs global security team.
MailMarshal’s Key Features
- Advanced Threat Detection: Leverages AI and machine learning to spot and contain the latest phishing, ransomware, and BEC threats.
- Layered Defense: With 20+ security layers, MailMarshal captures over 99.9% of email-based threats.
- Low False Positives: Maintains a false positive rate of less than 0.01%, reducing the time spent on investigating benign alerts.
- Real-Time Threat Intelligence: Continuously updated with the latest threat intelligence from Trustwave’s global security team.
- Flexible Deployment: Available on-premises, cloud, or hybrid, and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365.
Secure Your Email now with Trustwave MailMarshal
Trustwave MailMarshal doesn’t just check the box—it transforms email security into a strategic advantage for organizations looking to protect against the ever-evolving threat landscape. By combining advanced technology and real-time intelligence, MailMarshal offers unmatched threat prevention, reduces risk, and strengthens security resilience across your organization.
