5 The Best Email Security for the Enterprise

For many organizations, the email is still the number one communication tool for both internal (within the company) and external (with clients, customers and partners) communication.

It’s not easy to replace email (at least not completely) as we are so used to it (we had 40+ years) and we just don’t have the time (or the will) often to try something new. After all, if it works, why change it?

But email is often a prime target for cybercriminals, who carry 90% of all cyberattacks via email. Every year, these attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and they cost unprepared individuals and businesses billions of dollars.

Just between 2016 and 2019, BEC (Business Email Compromise) resulted in reported global losses of $26 billion in 166,349 reported incidents in that period (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center).

While individual end-users should no doubt secure their email against email-borne threats, the real targets for criminals are enterprises. In 2018, for instance, 76% of businesses reported being a victim of an email phishing attack and an average phishing attack costs a company $3.8 million.

5 Enterprise Email Security Solutions

What is the answer to protecting your enterprise’s email from these threats? 

Not using email?

Hardly a solution, as it is one that will severely limit your communication options with shareholders. 

Instead, you need to work on enhancing your email security for the enterprise. 

Of course, that’s not something you get to do overnight. Instead, it’s a process, a journey if you will and it starts with these 5 enterprise email security best practices:

1.Start with the Basics

Email security for enterprises doesn’t have to be complicated. The first step in implementing an effective enterprise email security solution is to get the basics right. That means making sure that you set up a thorough email security solution for your business.

Your enterprise email security solution should be managed completely by the email security provider to free your resources for more productive tasks (getting customers, making sales, etc.) and user-friendly (nothing overly complicated for the end-user is really good).

2.Teach your employees.

Most companies stay jittery about outside threats, especially hackers cracking databases to snatch sensitive information on the business and clients.

We think the worry nails it dead on, since one breach can torch trust and pile up monster bills in a heartbeat.

And that’s a valid concern. Ransomware, a major external threat, is more prevalent than ever, with 4,611 cases reported in 2023—a nearly 73% jump from the previous year. This highlights the intense pressure from outside attackers.

But here’s the crucial point:

While defending against these external attacks is vital, insider email threats are just as significant a problem. They often create the vulnerability that external threats exploit. Recent data confirms the scale of the insider issue. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2023 Cost of Insider Threats Report, the average annual cost for businesses has risen dramatically to $16.2 million per organization.

Does that mean your employees can’t be trusted? Absolutely not.

Yes, there are angry and malicious insiders, but the majority of insider threats are not malicious. The same 2023 report found that 56% of incidents are due to employee or contractor negligence. This human error is the weak link that ransomware gangs target; after all, 71% of organizations experienced a ransomware attack in 2023, and the initial breach often starts with a simple employee mistake, like clicking a phishing link.

This connection makes employee education doubly critical. It’s not just about preventing internal leaks; it’s your primary defense against the world’s most common cyberattacks. Experts agree: “Cybersecurity is ultimately a human problem, and fostering internal awareness… is a critical first line of defense.” This is something that everyone in your organization needs to work on.

Unfortunately, many organizations still neglect this training, even though their employees are the first line of defense. If it fails, no amount of security solutions will help you, especially when ransomware payments exceeded $1 billion in 2023 and the average data breach cost hit a record $4.45 million.

3.Stop Phishing Attacks with Sender Authentication

Slapping sender authentication onto your company email defenses adds a thick layer against phishing scum spoofing addresses.

We think skipping it leaves doors wide open, since legit mails sail through verified while fakes get bounced hard and impersonation drops sharp.

Sender authentication answers the question, “is the sender of this email who they claim to be?”. Or are they someone else entirely and just pretend?

In this regard, sender authentication follows certain standards. There are three main standards:

With all that in mind, look for an enterprise email security solution that combines all three (DKIM, SPF and DMARC) to analyze and track sender reputation.

4.Backup Files

Even the strongest, military-grade enterprise email security solution can fail to a cyberattack. In the last several years, hackers have become incredibly sophisticated and cunning. They know their “trade” well.

A data breach or ransomware strike can slam your outfit blindside anytime, no mercy.

We think winging prep on any scale is pure folly, since solid backups let you recover fast and dodge crippling costs.

Back up important files regularly to safeguard them from ransomware by:

5.Always Prepare for the Worst

You got all these fancy enterprise email security toys lined up to shield your outfit from the bad guys, but when a real threat pops up and stares you in the face, do you even know the first move?

We think most crews freeze right there, honestly, because having the gear is one thing and knowing how to swing it when the alarm blares is a whole different beast.

What do you do when, for instance, you realize that an employee email has been compromised? Or if a data breach has occurred?

This is where a solid enterprise email security management strategy came  in. Without a clear protocol in place that everybody in your company can follow, it will be much harder to respond to such threats on time or effectively.

Where to Find Email Security for Enterprise that Covers all of This?

Finding an enterprise email security solution that covers all of the above, or even just the majority, seems like an impossible task, but it’s not.

CTemplar is an encrypted email security provider that will ensure that the data you send and receive across the email is protected whether you’re an individual user, a small company of up to 10 employees or a large corporation with hundreds of employees.

For an army-grade enterprise email, check out our Champion Plan, which features 50GB storage, support for 100 hosted domains, Anti-Phishing phrase, Brute-force protection, a Dead-man timer, 2FA and more stuff that will help you secure your enterprise email.
Sign up today for CTemplar and secure your email.