9 Email Security Best Practices Against Threat Protection in the Workplace
Email is still the most popular form of communication in the workplace, used to resolve issues, send files, and for many other purposes. However, like any online channel, it has vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals spot and exploit these weak spots, breaching networks to snatch confidential information. The fallout can be devastating, including massive fines and a total collapse of trust.
So, you can’t neglect proper security when it comes to email. Let us tell you more about the threats you might face and tips on how to handle them.
Common Email Threats
First, you need to understand the possible dangers that await you. Cybercriminals never stop learning, and they become smarter each year. Even if you think your systems are perfectly protected, you can’t eliminate the possibility of attacks.
As Window Snyder, the Chief Security Officer of Fastly, Square, Inc. and Apple, said
“One single vulnerability is what the attacker needs.”
So, we gathered the most common email security threats. Check them out below and find out what provokes them.
Phishing Attacks
While robust email security systems are essential, phishing persists as the most prevalent threat. In these attacks, criminals send deceptive messages that impersonate trusted sources — like a manager or financial institution — to trick employees into revealing sensitive information such as passwords. These emails often contain malicious links or attachments. Because this threat exploits human psychology, technical filters alone are insufficient.
The most effective mitigation is a proactive human firewall built through regular phishing simulations, which train employees to recognize and report these schemes. Failure to do so routinely leads to severe consequences: data breaches, identity theft, and direct financial loss.
Spear Phishing
This type of phishing differs a bit from the general one. This one targets specific individuals or organizations. Spear attacks are more personalized and convincing.
Criminals often gather details from social media or previous breaches to make the email seem more legitimate. It can be extremely hard to detect these attacks.
QR Code Phishing
QR code phishing sneaks up like a bad surprise at a party. You spot one plastered on a poster, promising free goodies or quick payments, and bam, your phone scans it without a second thought. Scammers craft these codes to lead straight to fake sites that steal your info, logins, or even cash from your wallet app.
Think about it. In crowded spots, like train stations or cafes, folks whip out their cameras fast. No typing URLs, just a zap and you’re in. But that ease? It’s a trapdoor. According to our analysts, attacks spiked 50% last year alone, hitting banks and social accounts hard.
We think people underestimate the tech behind it. Codes can embed malicious links, redirecting to phishing pages that mimic legit ones. Spot the red flags: weird domains, urgent demands for details. Maybe check the preview before clicking through.
Document Capture Phishing
Document capture phishing tricks you into handing over pics of your ID, passport, driver’s license right to crooks. Email lands pretending it’s from bank, government, or job site. Urgent message screams verify identity now or account locks. Click through, fake page begs upload front and back scans, selfie holding card.
These forms look dead legit, logos perfect, wording pushy yet pro.
Crooks grab your docs, forge new accounts, drain banks, or sell data dark web quick. We think rushed folks snap photos without thinking twice.
Flow like this: bait email, fake upload portal, instant grab.
Business Email Compromise
BEC is an advanced type of fraud. Here attackers impersonate a high-level executive or a trusted partner. It allows them to manipulate employees into transferring money or revealing sensitive info.
This type of attack relies mostly on social engineering. It’s especially dangerous because it doesn’t depend on software vulnerabilities.
Malware
Malware-laden messages usually have malicious attachments or links. They upload dangerous software to your computer once you click on them.
Ransomware is a specific type of malware. It encrypts your files and holds them hostage until you pay the hackers.
Email Spoofing
Attackers might fabricate the sender’s email address to make it look like a trustworthy source. They make it seem legitimate, so you’ll probably follow their request.
Also, someone might use spoofed emails to spread misinformation within your company or to external partners.
Vendor Impersonation
Vendor impersonation creeps into your inbox like an old mate asking for a quick favor. Scammers spoof emails from suppliers you’ve dealt with forever, slapping on fake invoices or urgent payment updates. You click approve. Money vanishes to some offshore account. Brutal hit for small outfits especially.
Look at these fake emails – slick, right? Logos spot on, wording casual yet pushy.
Impersonation scams jumped 148% in 2025, topping the charts for reported fraud. Businesses got hit hardest, 51% of cases pretending to be vendors or partners. AI tools make these messages scarily convincing now, cloning tones from real threads. We think rushed finance teams fall easiest during end-of-month chaos.
Fake invoices like this one? Classic move – changed bank details buried in fine print.
Honestly, verify every change out-of-band. Call the known number, not the one in the email. Train folks to spot urgency tricks. Or yeah, watch the cash drain fast. This racket ain’t fading anytime soon.
SSO/MFA Fatigue Attacks
SSO/MFA fatigue attacks wear you down sneaky style. Crook grabs your password first, maybe from a leak or phishing hook. Then logs in over and over, triggering push notifications on your phone, ding ding ding nonstop. You get annoyed, half-asleep, or just fed up. Click approve to shut it up. Boom, they’re in your accounts, SSO portals wide open.
See this spam flood? Phone lights up like fireworks, prompts piling high.
According to our analysts, these bombs exploded in 2025, social engineering topping breach lists worldwide. Microsoft clocked hundreds of thousands attempts yearly, users cracking under pressure. We think busy pros hit hardest, late nights or meetings, ignoring alerts till one slips through.
Flow charts show it plain – steal creds, spam prompts, wait for yes.
Deny and report quick. Switch to hardware keys or biometrics that crooks can’t bomb easy. Limit pushes per hour. Or yeah, watch access vanish overnight. This ploy keeps surging, no signs of quit. Stay vigilant, mates.
Spam
These messages are not always dangerous. However, spam can lead to security risks if you interact with them. These messages often have
- Deceptive content;
- Fake offers;
- Links to hostile websites, etc.
You may accidentally download malware or expose yourself to adware. Also, a lot of spam may clog up your inboxes and reduce productivity.
For your convenience, we’ve created a table. You can see the main factors that provoke these attacks and the outcomes you might face if they happen.
| Threat | Reason | Negative Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing Attacks | Criminals send deceptive messages impersonating trusted sources to exploit human psychology and trick employees into revealing sensitive information. Technical filters alone are insufficient. | Data breaches, identity theft, and direct financial loss. |
| Spear Phishing | A highly targeted form of phishing where criminals use personalized information (from social media/breaches) to craft convincing attacks against specific individuals or organizations, making them extremely hard to detect. | High success rate for data theft and fraud due to the personalized and convincing nature. |
| QR Code Phishing | Scammers use malicious QR codes in public places to redirect users to fake sites. The ease of scanning, combined with a lack of scrutiny, makes this an effective trap. | Theft of login credentials, personal info, and direct financial loss from linked accounts (e.g., wallet apps). Attacks spiked 50% last year. |
| Document Capture Phishing | Victims are tricked via urgent, legitimate-looking emails into uploading photos of official IDs (passport, driver’s license) to fake portals. | Crooks use stolen documents to forge identities, drain bank accounts, open fraudulent accounts, or sell data on the dark web. |
| Business Email Compromise (BEC) | Advanced fraud where attackers impersonate high-level executives or trusted partners using social engineering (not software exploits) to manipulate employees. | Unauthorized money transfers and disclosure of sensitive information, causing significant financial and reputational damage. |
| Malware | Messages contain malicious attachments or links that upload dangerous software (e.g., ransomware) to the victim’s device upon interaction. | System compromise, data encryption (ransomware), financial extortion, and operational disruption. |
| Email Spoofing | Attackers fabricate the sender’s email address to appear as a trustworthy source, lending legitimacy to their malicious requests. | Spreading misinformation, facilitating further attacks (like phishing), and damaging trust internally and with partners. |
| Vendor Impersonation | Scammers spoof emails from trusted suppliers/vendors with fake invoices or urgent payment updates, often using AI to make them highly convincing. | Fraudulent wire transfers to offshore accounts. Impersonation scams jumped 148% in 2025, hitting businesses—especially small ones—hard. |
| SSO/MFA Fatigue Attacks | After obtaining a password, attackers trigger a flood of multi-factor authentication (MFA) push notifications to wear the victim down until they accidentally approve one. | Unauthorized account access via Single Sign-On (SSO) portals. This ploy surged in 2025, exploiting user frustration and inattention. |
| Spam | While not always directly dangerous, these unsolicited messages often contain deceptive content, fake offers, or links to malicious websites. | Security risks if interacted with, leading to accidental exposure to phishing, malware, or scams. Can also clutter systems and reduce productivity. |
9 The Best Practices for Email Protection
You already know about the main risks of using email in the workplace. Now, let’s talk about safeguarding this communication channel.
Of course, even the best security can’t guarantee you full protection. However, some measures can help you lower the possibility of these attacks. Try to follow these practices and you’ll definitely see some security improvements.
1.Strong Unique Passwords
The first and probably the simplest step you can take is to create a strong password for your account. It is the primary barrier between your personal info and potential hackers. A weak one makes it easier to access your network.
What makes the password strong?
It has to be difficult to guess, even by sophisticated hacking methods. Try to follow these tips to strengthen it:
- Aim for at least 12 characters;
- Make it complex (mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols);
- Avoid predictable information (company name, date of founding, sequential letters or numbers).
Also, you can’t reuse the same password for multiple accounts. Attackers will easily access your other systems if they manage to compromise one of them. For example, they might enter your bank account if they already have access to your email.
These strong combinations might be too complicated to remember. So, we recommend using password managers. These useful tools will store them for you and you’ll only have to remember a single master combination. Here are some popular tools you can use:
- LastPass;
- Bitwarden;
- Dashlane;
- Keeper;
- 1Password;
- Email address verifier.
2.Two-Factor Authentication
A single password can’t protect your account fully. You can use 2FA to strengthen the security.
How does it work?
You must follow two steps to access your account. First, you need to input your password. Next, the system will ask for a verification code or a biometric factor.
Common methods for the second form of authentication are:
- SMS or email code;
- Authenticator apps;
- Physical security keys;
- Fingerprints or facial recognition.
3.Regular Software Updates
The next step in maintaining your business email secure is regular software updates. Outdated software usually has many security flaws that criminals might exploit.
Many updates include security patches that handle new vulnerabilities. Plus, they often bring improvements to functionality and performance. The latest versions allow you to minimize potential bugs or glitches that could compromise security.
Also, keep in mind that new protocols and security measures appear all the time. You need to ensure your email platform remains compatible with modern encryption and authentication methods. It will help you avoid data leaks.
We know how tiring it might be to check for all these updates manually. So, we strongly recommend using automation here. That way, you’ll get all the critical patches as soon as they appear.
4.Encryption
This method can help you protect the sensitive info inside your email. Encryption transforms this content into an unreadable format. Only a person with a decryption key can read it.
We want to describe two main methods of email encryption – public and end-to-end.
The first one uses one public and one private key. Public one is available to anyone who wants to send an encrypted email. The private key remains confidential and allows you to decode the message.
In the end-to-end system, the sender’s device encrypts the email. Only the recipient’s device can decrypt it. No one can read the message in transit.
5.Spam Filters
You can incorporate spam filters to identify and block unwanted messages. These tools use different techniques to classify email as spam, like
- Keyword analysis;
- Sender reputation evaluation;
- Heuristic analysis (assess links, structure, content, etc.);
- Bayesian filtering (based on previous interactions).
You can adjust the filters to your exact needs. For example, you might change their sensitivity to reduce false positives. Yet, we still recommend you check the spam folder occasionally to ensure you don’t miss any important messages.
Also, try to report any spam that bypasses your filter. It will help you improve its efficiency for you and other users.
6.No Public Wi-Fi
We often use public Wi-Fi networks because they are convenient. However, they mostly lack adequate security measures. So, we recommend not to use them for your business emails.
There might be situations when public networks are your only option. In this case, follow these tips to avoid negative consequences:
- Connect to a VPN;
- Refrain from sending sensitive or personal info;
- Disable file and public folder sharing;
- Connect to networks that require a password;
- Log out after you finish your session.
7.Employee Education
Your employees are the first line of defense against email threats. So, you need to invest more time in their education. They have to know how to recognize different hazards and respond to them.
First, you need to emphasize how important cybersecurity is. Outline the types of threats they might face. Try to use real examples to illustrate their impact.
Establish clear procedures for reporting any phishing or hacking attempts. You need to create an environment where workers feel comfortable discussing any concerns without fear of blame. Try to reward those who actively participate in cybersecurity practices.
Also, you need to host training sessions regularly. You can create simulations for attacks to give your workers a realistic experience. Give them feedback and offer additional resources. For instance, you can provide them with online courses or webinars.
8.Encrypt Email
Email encryption locks your messages tight, scrambling contents so only the right recipient unlocks them with their key. Plain text emails float naked across servers, easy pickings for snoopers or hackers mid-journey. Switch on proper encryption. Nobody peeks in without permission.
This flow shows it clear – sender encrypts, data jumbles, recipient decrypts safe.
Senders gain superpowers too. Oops, wrong person? Revoke access quick, message vanishes from their inbox or portal. Track opens, see who read when. Honestly, game changer for sensitive stuff like contracts or health records.
Encrypted setups slash risks from malware riding emails or business email compromise scams where crooks spoof bosses demanding wire transfers. Sensitive data stays gibberish if intercepted. We think companies ignoring this invite trouble big time, especially with regs biting harder.
Tools like S/MIME built into Outlook or PGP for tougher needs handle it smooth.
Revoke feature in action here – pull back sent mails easy. Flip it on, mates. Train teams proper. Or watch leaks pile up nasty. This shield works wonders if used right.
9.Data Backups
The last practice we want to mention is not exactly a security one. As we’ve noted before, nothing can give you a 100% protection. So, it’s essential to do backups to avoid data loss.
How can you do that?
- Use the in-built backup option if available;
- Incorporate third-party tools that automate this process (MailStore, Backupify, etc.);
- Cloud storage solutions (Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive);
- Save messages to an external hard drive or USB flash drive.
Also, we recommend you label and organize all your messages before you use any of these methods. Create a backup schedule and set reminders to follow it. Try to test your chosen solution regularly to ensure it works properly.
Conclusion
Email security in the workplace is essential, as we use it for most business communications. Your messages might have some confidential info or financial details you wouldn’t want to expose.
Attackers always find new ways to break into your system. So, you have to combine diverse measures to provide a strong defense.
Try to use strong passwords and 2FA, and teach your employees about cybersecurity. Never neglect software updates and always back up your important messages.
We hope that our guide was useful. Be aware of the email threats we described and incorporate the practices we outlined in your workflow.