Have you heard that in October of the year 2020, spam made up an enormous 84.57% of all emails sent throughout the globe? That’s an incredible daily average of 242.42 billion spam messages. Without the proper spam filters in place, your company might be receiving a higher volume of spam than is acceptable.
Spam is not only a waste of time and resources for businesses, but it also poses security risks. While the majority of spam is just an attempt to get you to buy something you don’t need or that seems sketchy, some of it is really an attempt to steal money, compromise your system, or steal your company’s intellectual property. While it’s possible to protect yourself against spam by implementing email filtering on your mail server, this may not always be adequate.
Cloud Services
Whether your company uses an on-premises Exchange server or O365 in the cloud with accompanying email, cloud spam filtering services may help you protect your inboxes from unwanted spam and harmful messages.
In contrast to the hardware and software that may be suggested if you host your email server locally (discussed further below), cloud-based spam filtering services leave the installation, space, and processing power (or particular hardware requirements) up to the provider. You need just adjust a few settings on the mail server’s end to enable the filter. Barracuda Essentials, Proofpoint Email Protection, and Mimecast Email Security are three of the best cloud spam filter providers presently available.
Hardware Devices
Unbelievable as it may seem, anti-spam hardware is available. Yes, there are alternatives to software when it comes to spam filtering. Having a hardware-based spam filter on-premises makes sense since emails are filtered many times before they reach your systems. This prevents spam from entering your network and ‘poisoning the waters.’
If you’re looking for an on-premises email filtering solution, Barracuda is one company that still provides hardware solutions. The continued use of these gadgets throughout time depends on careful management and regular upkeep. This is why many organizations nowadays choose to employ cloud-based email filtering (sometimes using the organization’s own particular technology) over physical gear located on-site.
Software-Based Filters
The filters used by your email server might be supplemented by those of other applications. It’s possible that your email provider has additional filters already installed. The product’s advanced spam filters are compatible with Microsoft’s O365.
A software-based filter is an on-premises software solution that provides an additional degree of security before your email reaches your email filter. The downside to these software-only approaches is that they need you to set up and handle everything yourself, even if they cost less than hardware options. Such products are installed in between a company’s firewall and its email server. Among these kinds of programs is Spam Titan Gateway.
Education of Staff
When it comes to protecting against malicious incoming emails, your workers are always the final line of defence. As phishing evolves at a dramatic rate, filters may miss some of these messages.
If your staff hasn’t received thorough security education and doesn’t report representing emerging threats via frequent briefings, they may not recognize the malicious nature of a phishing email that makes it past your filters. You may either select one of the many pre-made packages for raising staff knowledge of security risks or create your own, or have an external source routinely brief employees.
