Business Email Compromise (BEC) is growing rapidly as cybercriminals become more sophisticated and successful in their technical methods for hacking security protocols. Email is the most convenient way to communicate and share files – but it has also become the most vulnerable access point in your collaboration system. Email is the target of choice for cybercriminal activity because standard email systems are so easy to breach. Email users make it even simpler to get hacked by being too casual with security protocols, too careless with passwords, and too quick to click unknown links, all of which can lead to disaster.
Here’s a quick summary of the vulnerability points you should review to ensure your email system is safe:
Review your email application to ensure it is current with the latest security patches and updates. Running old versions of software can leave your system vulnerable to known weaknesses that have been corrected or eliminated in newer versions.
Be careful of phishing, malware, ransomware – any and all suspect attempts to gain unauthorized access to your information. Before you click a link, be sure you know where that link is really taking you. One wrong click can grant unwanted and perhaps irreversible access to your accounts.
Delete any email offer that arouses a sense of fear, anxiety, suspicion, or just seems too good to be true. No random strangers contacting you from foreign countries legitimately need you, for a handsome handler’s fee, to facilitate a financial transaction for them, no how legitimate the request or urgent the situation may seem. Unfortunately, there are still people falling victim to these scams.
Ensure you use safe email practices, create strong passwords, and store them securely, and change your passwords periodically.
Use a fully encrypted email system with multi-factor authentication that operates on a private network.
Gold Comet’s Secure Messaging solution ticks all these boxes. Our patented software is remains under constant development to implement improvements and build in increased functionality. Unlike other systems which are built upon one encryption key per entire account, Gold Comet Secure Messaging is built with 256-bit encryption keys assigned to every individual piece of data and a multi-level authentication process for account access, making it a virtually impenetrable system. Additionally, you will never receive a phishing or malware email because only the people on your contact list can email you. Scam emails from addresses not on your mailing list are rejected at the barrier and never even enter your inbox.
Doing all you can to avoid BEC is essential because your business and private information has great value. Cybercriminals are at work day and night, searching for ways to compromise your privacy and gain access to your valuable information, whether their target is your bank accounts, investments, intellectual property, or personal data. The objective of BEC is to take what is yours and exploit it for personal gain. It may be nearly impossible to recover from the damage of a BEC attack – at the very least, it is a long and arduous corrective process. Find out more about how you can protect yourself from BEC by using the best solution for email security, Gold Comet Secure Messaging.