Every organization must take email security seriously. A majority of organizations, if not all, use emails as their primary communication method in 2022. Email has become an indispensable professional tool for big, medium, and small enterprises. Unfortunately, email is one of the most attacked software by attackers. Arravo is an expert at ensuring your email is protected from attacks, and we have come up with our top Email security best practices for employees.

Attackers use email to have access to your systems and access sensitive information like credit cards, personal data, social security numbers, and more. They can achieve this by injecting malware into the email with malicious links that redirect you to a false website, where they will capture sensitive information. They can also do this by using social engineering tactics to launch phishing attacks against your company.

What is email security?

It involves applying different procedures and techniques to ensure that your email accounts and contents are protected against unauthorized access, phishing attacks, and spam. It protects you from content loss or compromise and prevents any malware spreads.

See these email security etiquette as email security best practices phishing for your employees should know in 2022.

Email Security Best Practices for Employees

1. Use Strong and Unique Passwords

Using a strong password is an email security etiquette as well as email security best practices nist you must take seriously. Some people still use passwords like ‘123456’, their date of birth, name, and similar passwords for their emails. Hackers can easily access your emails with passwords like that.

Use strong and unique passwords that include upper and lower case letters. Include special characters and mix them with numbers. It is almost impossible for hackers to hack your emails with passwords that contain those.

2. Turn on 2- factor Authentication

Another email attachment security best practices you can use is to enable two-factor authentication in your mail. It prompts you to provide two pieces of personal information before it can log you in. You will provide a password and a temporary passcode sent to your device via screen prompt or text message.

You might find this annoying, especially if you have to deal with it everyday. But this is one measure that ensures your information is safe from hackers.

3. Employees must not use their company email for personal use.

So many companies now encourage employees to use their personal devices for work. It is convenient for the company but also has disadvantages and can be harmful. Reduce the opportunity for cybercriminals to get into your system by ensuring that business devices, accounts, and networks are used only for business.

Employees system might not be booted with the proper email security tools, which exposes your company to cyber threats. It is important for companies to adopt email security best practices office 365.

4. Be careful with links and Attachments.

Before clicking on links and attachments, employers must understand email gateway security best practices, and be sure of their source or take an extra measure of scanning. One of the top email best practices for employees you must take seriously.

90% of phishing attacks occur through links and attachments sent via mail. Questions employees should ask before clicking a link or opening an attachment include:

• Is this a trusted sender?
• Does the email mention that there is an attachment?
• Are you expecting an email from anyone?

Employees should not open any suspicious emails, attachments, or links. The best approach is to confirm the content in the attachment or link sent before proceeding to open it.

Use endpoint email security solutions to prevent malicious links and attachments from affecting your workforce systems.

5. Avoid replying to scammers and spammers.

You must not reply to scammers and spammers, especially when you have confirmed that they are scammers. The best approach is to ignore the messages and delete them immediately from your email.

6. Change your email password as often as possible.

You might find this inconvenient, but this is one of the top email security best practices in 2022. Changing your password often is one of the simplest ways to secure your emails. It should be your first line of defense, as password leaks and data breaches happen every year.

7. Look out for phishing emails.

Scammers are constantly sending phishing emails to confuse or mislead your employees. They use personation to trick employees into downloading malware and requesting sensitive login information on a look-alike website.

Train your employees to spot and recognize phishing attempts using customized training programs.

8. Never use public Wi-Fi to access work emails.

It is a bad idea to work with public Wi-Fi as this is an attack medium for cyberattacks. Ideally, anyone with access to public Wi-Fi can monitor your actions and gain access to your personal information.

9. Avoid giving out your email address.

It is almost normal to submit your email address when trying to register for something online. Employers must be careful where they give out their email addresses because once scammers have your emails, they can send links and attachments that are harmful to your business.

10. Periodically review and update your security and privacy settings.

New cyberattacks have brought about additional security measures created to solve these problems.

It is necessary to keep your employees and their systems updated on all threats and vulnerabilities the company might face.

Have a regular schedule to check for suspicious activities on your employee accounts. Check for unauthorized logins and suspicious emails.

11. Train your employees

Train employees in cybersecurity, web security, and mail security to ensure they do not fall victim to cyber-attacks. Your employees must not be ignorant of the problems they might expose the company to if they do not know the best practices to apply.

GET EXPERT EMAIL SECURITY BEST PRACTICES FOR EMPLOYEES FROM ARRAVO.

At Arravo, our security advisory team can evaluate your entire IT infrastructure for susceptibilities and verify that your policies and procedures meet the latest industry best practices.

We offer various security solutions and services, including Security Advisory and Governance Services, vulnerability assessments. Security monitoring and detection services, Network Security, Security Operations Center, Endpoints security, perimeter security, application and email security, and Cloud Security.

Arravo Ltd is a leading global systems integrator and managed services provider.
With over 300 of the finest ICT minds in Nigeria, we spearhead innovation and bring together the world’s best technologies, from business advisory services, risk and service management, Cloud and Digital transformation as well as strategic ICT planning and execution.

Our solutions include Digital Transformation, Advanced And Data Analytics, Security, Cloud Computing, Unified Communications and Collaboration, operate and manage data centers, Converged Connectivity, Mobility, Application, Business Consulting And Professional Services, Internet of Things, Managed print services (MPS) and are built on best-in-class infrastructure. Other products are Email Security And Encryption, and the Best Practices For Employees, Worry-Free Business Services, Network Security Architecture, and Endpoint Security Standards and Checklist.

We design, manage and optimize technology environments, allowing you to trust in the power of technology while focusing on your core business.

Need help? Speak with email security and encryption expert today