4 Email Attack Types You Should Get Ready for in 2021

We can all agree that 2020 wasn’t the best year and that we all want to forget it as quickly as possible. But surely, 2021 can only be better, right?

Well, it could be or it might not be. A lot of things in 2020 hit us completely unawares, like the Covid-19. But while we can’t predict the future, we can, to some degree prepare for it.

One thing is certain ahead of 2021. We are going to see a lot of email attacks. Perhaps more so than ever as people spend more time working at home and remotely and get stressed out because of the whole situation.

That’s where that preparedness that we mentioned comes in. We hope that your email stays safe from cybercriminals and the like, but slim chances for that, so here are the biggest 4 email attack types that you need to prepare yourself for before 2021.

1. More Covid-19 Email Frauds to Pay Attention to in 2021

On this note, little will change between 2020 and 2021. At least until we completely eradicate the virus either by developing a working vaccine or everyone getting immune to it.

But until that happens, we will not only have to continue to deal with the virus itself, but also the email frauds that abuse the situation. As such, the three worst Coronavirus-related email scam attacks that you should keep an eye on are:

• Donation requests for people who lost their jobs during Covid-19;
• Donation requests for organizations working on the vaccine against Covid-19;
• Advertisements for Covid-19 medicine.

Always remember that emotions are often the biggest leverage that scammers use and that’s truer than ever when it comes to Covid-19 email spam attacks.

2. Netflix and Other Streaming Services Scam Emails Continue to Plague in 2021

Netflix and other popular streaming services are becoming more and more popular targets for email scams and as their users grow, get ready for more email scam attack related to them.

In 2020, we’ve seen a number of different Netflix phishing attacks, including one that’s been reported more than 2,000 times to the UK national fraud and cyber center, Action Fraud.

So, as you sit down in the evening to enjoy your favorite Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon TV show, be prepared for scammers who will try to steal your credentials and more. If you happen to receive a phishing email related to Netflix, for instance, be sure to report it by forwarding it to [email protected].

3. More Insider Email Schemes to Keep an Eye on in 2021

It’s not just outside threats that you should worry about, like hackers. The danger might just as well come from within your own ranks. Between 2018 and 2020, the number of insider email threats has increased by 47% and the cost of such incidents went up by 31%, according to a Panda Security report.

Does that mean that you will from now on have to look over the shoulder of every employee? Of course not, but nevertheless it’s useful to know where these insider threats can come from:

• Ex-employees. Have you recently fired someone or have they left abruptly, but kept the login privileges? Revoke them. You don’t need people who no longer work for you knowing your email passwords;
• Disgruntled employees. This one is a lot harder to detect than ex-employees, but if you notice a particularly disgruntled employee, keep an eye on them. They might do something stupid;
• Innocent employees. Hey, people make mistakes, but in this case, those mistakes can cost you a lot of money. Unknowingly, an employee of yours might give out their login credentials to an email scammer and that way put the entire company at risk. 

The best way to get ahead of these is to educate and train your employees to better identify and detect email scamming and phishing attacks.

4. Email Spam Attacks and Social Engineering Campaigns Will Continue to be on the Rise in 2021

Cyberattackers today realize that they can’t “succeed” without the cooperation of their victims. Because of this, they are now putting more effort into email attack and social engineering campaigns that are meant to “engage” their victims.

As many employees now work from home, this is already becoming a problem and will continue to be in 2021, as employees continue to access company resources over unsecured end-points, including their personal devices.

One thing you can do to prevent these is to make sure your employees only log in from company-issued laptops and work emails and never from their personal devices and email accounts.

Conclusion and What to Do Next?

Email attacks will continue to rise in 2021, targeting both individuals and organizations in a multitude of ways. Take, for instance, a look at all the different attack techniques hackers used in August 2020, by Hackmaggedon:

Email-related attacks unsurprisingly hold a few high places there.

What can you do to prepare and better defend against these threats in 2021? Well, we’ve already given you an idea of what the biggest email threats that you should pay attention to are. Now it’s your turn to take the next steps, starting by using a more secure email service.

CTemplar: Armored Email is all about providing email privacy and security to its users. We use the industry’s strongest end-to-end encryption to safeguard your email and its contents from prying eyes, including Zero-knowledge password protection and anti-phishing mechanism, whether you’re an individual or an organization (check out why organizations need a free secure email account).

Protect your email from hackers, spammers and other bad actors by signing up for your CTemplar email account today and have peace of mind when emailing from now on.