A study in February 2017 found that there are roughly 3.7 billion email users, with around 269 billion emails sent every single day. Unfortunately, a separate study also estimates that around 49.7% of these emails are spam, and 2.3% of this number contain malicious attachments.
While 2.3% as a percentage remains relatively low, this percentage of 269 billion emails is clearly a huge figure! With this in mind, it’s more important than ever to take the necessary precautions to identify security threats in spam emails. We’ve given our 5 best tips below.
#1 A managed antivirus solution
One of the most important safeguards that you should have installed on your business IT infrastructure is a robust antivirus solution. Active 24/7, this defence software will constantly be monitoring any traffic and emails that come in or out of your system, identifying any issues.
Better still, you can have a managed antivirus solution which is hosted by an external IT partner, adding an extra layer of defence to your business.
#2 Managed web protection
It’s extremely likely that your business will be operating online in some form or another. Unfortunately, there are plenty of threats prevalent on the world wide web, with plenty of websites trying to capture your details to send you spam emails.
Managed web protection works in much the same way as a managed antivirus solution, with expert external partners keeping you secure against online threats.
#3 Web email hosting
Have you considered a website and email hosting service? Not only does it make for an efficient and cost-effective solution for keeping some of your most business critical services centralised, but it also offers you yet another layer of security against those spam emails.
You will be protected by the safeguards that your hosting provider has in place which, as this is what their business is built around, is top-of-the-range security software.
#4 Email security
An email security service is one of the best ways to help identify security threats in spam emails. Working much like an antivirus solution, it focuses specifically on emails, acting as a gateway between emails and your servers; checking for any threats as each one passes.
#5 Training
We would also highly recommend email and website browsing training for employees. The nature of threats continues to evolve, and employee naivety is a common cause for threats finding their way onto the system.
Consider training for all your employees, teaching them what to look out for when it comes to things such as:
- Email subscriptions
- Spam emails
- Malicious attachments
- Phishing attacks
Get IT help today
It’s unfortunate that many use the internet simply to cause problems for others, but that is simply the nature of the world that we live in now. But, by following our tips above and having proper training and robust systems in place, you’ll be able to identify problems before they cause you any trouble. Find out more about how we can help at our contact page or call 0121 573 0081.
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