Email security is a priority for all businesses, with the
growing threat of hackers,
viruses spam, phishing and
identity theft,
as well as the need to
secure business information.
What are the different ways to secure your email and email
users?
Email security is a multi-layered discipline which can involve
using
several types of security software and
security technology.
As well as
implementing security packages, good security practices and
policies for your staff are also essential in securing your email
communications.
Network security systems, that can protect the business as a
whole, are also worth considering as these can help to block
hackers and identity theft.
What email security settings should you use?
Make sure you use a spam filter, and
scan your email attachments. Research has shown that nine out
of every ten viruses that infect a computer reach it through an
email attachment.
Instant messaging protection and email spyware protection are
also available with many security software products, as are
personal firewall tools, which come with the operating system and
with many security suites.
Identity protection and content blocking can also go some way to
help protect the user’s desktop, so ensure that these settings are
optimised.
Can I encrypt my emails?
Lawyers and accountants are key users of email encryption
software, which often comes as a hosted service or plug in module
for
Microsoft Outlook.
Email encryption technologies exist to protect individual
sensitive emails. Software such as
OpenPGP allows you to encrypt
emails between the sender and recipient, to boost the security of
the emails.
Email encryption uses a public
key encoding
system which has been termed military grade security because it
is so hard to compromise.
What email security policies should I have?
Most businesses have trained their staff in the basic email
usage rules and best practises, such as not opening emails from
unreliable sources or clicking on web links in
emails that you can’t trust for sure.
However, there are also other good usage policies that can help
to secure your email and the business as a whole.
These include such things as using the bcc option with
integrity, so that spammers do not get hold of large lists of
names. Judicious use of the Forward and Reply All buttons are two
other practises that can help to secure business
communications.
It goes without saying that email and PC logins should be based
on strong passwords, rather than ones that are easy to guess.
Passwords should be changed regularly to maintain security, and
never shared or displayed indiscreetly.
What security features does Microsoft Exchange Server
have?
One of the most popular business email platforms,
Microsoft Exchange
Server has a number of built-in email protection features.
Among these are anti-spam and antivirus, as well as additional
integrated filtering and multi-engine scanning capabilities,
deigned to provide advanced protection.
The email platform also has compliance controls, to help firms meet
legal and regulatory compliance requirements.
Exchange Server 2007 now has some confidential messaging components
which will encrypt internal and Internet-based messages to help
protect the confidentiality of those messages in transit.
Email Security Resources
-
Microsoft Exchange Server
The popular Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 messaging platform has
encryption, antvirus and anti-spam security features incorporated
into the software.
-
Microsoft Exchange Hosted Encryption
Microsoft has a hosted Internet-based encryption service for
Exchange users. Microsoft Exchange Hosted Encryption provides
policy-based encryption from sender to recipient with no end-user
training or software installation.
-
Sophos PureMessage for Microsoft Exchange
Sophos PureMessage for Microsoft Exchange is part of the
vendor’s email security and data protection line and blocks spam,
viruses, spyware and phishing. It scans all inbound, outbound and
internal email and Exchange message stores.
-
Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange
Symantec Mail Security 6.0 for Microsoft Exchange is a
high-performance, integrated email security suite, offering
protection against virus threats, spam, and security risks while
enforcing internal policies on Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003/2007
servers.
- Websense Email
Security
Websense Email Security provides email protection by blocking
inbound and outbound email threats at the network gateway. It also
guards against blended threats, offers granular policy control and
reporting; and protects confidential data within email and
attachments.