Email Security Tips for Small Businesses

Despite being a powerful communications medium, emails are also easy for cybercriminals to target your brand. How do they do this? Phishing scams are rife, as is unauthorized email access to grab secure data. Fraudsters can send you an attachment with malware included… and they find new ways to risk your security daily. So how do you protect your business? Here are a few ways to secure your email communication.

Email security involves protecting every single message you send or receive. It ensures that your emails are sent and delivered without anybody else accessing them, adding something to them, or changing them in any way without you knowing. This type of security also includes finding spam and blocking it, stopping a virus from accessing your computer and keeping all your personal information private and safe.

Once you have email security in place, your everyday business communications are protected so that nobody can access your information through your emails or send false messages in your name. Email security offers layers of protection that ensure everything you write and receive in your business remains private and isn’t leaked.

Email Security for Small Businesses

No, hackers don’t just target large businesses; they are indiscriminate. In fact, they often target small companies because we don’t have as much security in place as larger businesses do. And the bad news is that most cyberattacks begin with an email. Perhaps a hacker accesses your email account and starts sending your customers mails requesting payment, or secure information. If the hacker is clever enough, the customer might be taken in, important information can be leaked and money stolen from you.

While cyberattacks certainly harm big businesses, they do irreparable damage to smaller ones, which is why email security is paramount.

Common Threats Small Businesses Face

Here are some typical threats your small business is facing every day:

• Someone Taking Over Your Account: To access your account, fraudsters use stolen passwords (or make calculated guesses). They also often send false emails to steal personal information.
• Scammers Sending Malware & Ransomware: With account access, they can send harmful software via email that steals personal information and locks files. They then often demand payment from the targeted person to restore access.
• Fraudsters Using Phishing Attacks: These are where fraudsters trick email users into clicking on false links or pretend to be a trusted source and share or request sensitive information.

Trusty Small Business Email Security Tips

Here are just a few tried and tested security tips to make your small business email safe:

1.  Make Your Employees Aware

• Educate the Team: Explain what phishing scams are, how malware is hidden in attachments, and how unauthorized access can access private information. Show them how to verify an email request to ensure it’s legitimate. Do this by setting out a clear email policy that explains what’s allowed and what’s unacceptable. Also, tell them what to do if they identify a possible threat.
• Explain How to Avoid Red Flags: Teach them how to avoid phishing scams, which include suspicious attachments, weird links and uncommon email addresses. Suggest they call the sender to confirm any requests made and don’t click any email links they cannot verify. By checking the sender’s URL, they can avoid illegal phishing sites.
• Don’t Send Personal Messages on Business Email: By combining a personal and business email account, you’re asking for trouble. You can accidentally leak confidential information without even realizing you’ve done so.

2.  Secure Your Information

• Strong Passwords are Essential: Never use the same password on several accounts, as passwords are a major target. Don’t use your kids’ or pets’ names and birthdays or easy patterns such as 1,2,3,4,5,6. Rather make your password unique. And keep a password manager handy to remember and access passwords easily.
• Change Passwords Regularly: Ensure your passwords are secure by changing them regularly and have systems in place that check whether your password is compromised. You can also use 2FA (two-factor authentication) or even MFA (multi-factor authentication) to further protect yourself when making or receiving financial payments or using email and cloud storage. This will reduce your risk of having your password compromised. Also, try to use your emails on only verified devices with updated virus software. Never make any financial transaction on public WiFi. And ensure you logout after an email session.

3.  Email Security 101

• Vital Email Protection: There are three important protocols to follow: SPF (Sender Policy Framework), which verifies the identity of the sender, DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Email), which adds a digital signature to the sender’s email, and DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, which aligns SPF and DKIM records to stop email spoofing. Regularly update and review all three.
• Advanced Security Tools: Don’t only use basic security tools; rather use advanced tools to protect your small business. These tools include malware scanners and email spam filters, both of which automatically detect harmful emails with strange attachments, links and contents, and then block them. Ensure you monitor your email traffic constantly and check for unusual activity, such as numerous login attempts, or emails being forwarded when you haven’t done so.
• Encrypt All Emails: An email travels via several servers before it reaches its destination. If you don’t encrypt that email, it can be intercepted by hackers, and sensitive information can be lost. To ensure your emails are protected, choose a hosting provider that offers end-to-end encryption as part of its package.

4.  Network Safety & Data Management

• We mentioned earlier the importance of not using public WiFi when you send emails, as on this unsecured platform, your messages could be exposed. If you intend working on public WiFi, you should use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to secure any communications.
• Malicious attacks could destroy your emails, so ensure you store copies elsewhere, so you can recover anything that is lost or compromised.

How to Enhance Your Email Security

There are various tools and services you can use to secure your business emails. Choose tools that offer strong protection against malware phishing, and spam. Their job is to scan email attachments, block anything suspicious and spot possible problems before they occur. Of course, as a small business, you will be watching your budget, so don’t overextend yourself with this. Choose tried and tested security options.

Here are some examples:

• Security features on Google Workspace.
• Mimecast, a cloud-based platform that filters email traffic.
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365.

There are several others, too, so ask colleagues or specialists for details. Most also include free trials. Ensure the one you choose works with your email system, is simple and fast to set up, and will update automatically. Many of these tools also come with free trials so you can see how they work before purchasing.