Email Threats

Types of email threats

Email remains the undisputed primary medium used to conduct cyberattacks. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated in launching email attacks, we’ve seen popular and damaging email threats rapidly evolve.

Common types of email threats such as:

• Malware: a broad category of email threats that comprises software designed to damage systems or gain unauthorized access to mission critical systems.
• Phishing emails: A form of email fraud where cybercriminals impersonate reputable entities to gain access to sensitive information.
• Ransomware: A type of email-borne threat which uses software to block access to files usually containing important intellectual property. Access to infected files cannot be accessed until a sum of money is paid to the anonymous cybercriminal. Spoiler, the sum of money required is never cheap!
• Email spoofing: A form of email threat where attackers fabricate email headers to give the illusion they have originated from trusted sources. Individuals are tricked into divulging sensitive information.
• Spam: Irrelevant email messages sent on large scales to unexpecting recipients. Spam can massively impact an organization’s productivity if left unchecked. Organizations large and small rely on email spam filters.

These email threats only account for a small portion of a cybercriminal’s playbook. Mimecast is here to help secure your organization from sophisticated email threats as classic threats evolve and new tactics emerge.

Email threat protection from Mimecast

Mimecast’s comprehensive email security services include: 

• Mimecast Secure Email Gateway, delivering 100% anti-malware protection and 99% anti-spam protection with 0.0001% false positives.
• Targeted Threat Protection, combating advanced types of email threats like phishing, spearfishing or a zero day attack by scanning all email in real time to detect and block malicious links, weaponized attachments and social engineering techniques. Targeted Threat Protection also provides dynamic capabilities to educate users about risks and reinforce email threat protection policies.
• Content Control and Data Leak Prevention to stop inadvertent or purposeful leaks of intellectual property, customer information and other sensitive data.
• Large File Send, enabling employees to send and receive large attachments (up to 2 GB in size) directly from their mailbox, avoiding the need to use file sharing services that are outside of the organization’s security control.

Secure Messaging, which provides a way for employees to securely send email without the need to download encryption software or to master encryption techniques.