EmailSecurityServicesEmail Security - Why it’s a Must Have! | Fuse Technology Group | Detroit & Michigan

2017 saw an unprecedented rise in ransomware and spear phishing. Many companies running older anti-spam or email security systems found themselves in an extremely vulnerable spot. The legacy solutions didn’t have the horsepower or smarts to fend off these new types of attacks thus allowing the threats to float right into many users email boxes and email servers.

The Misconceptions

“My old solution works just fine” Usually  the locks on the doors to your homework fine until there is an incident. Then most of us go out and buy a security system that we told ourselves we never needed before.

“My Gmail or 365 has anti-spam/security built in”  While both services do have an anti-spam and some security, it is very, very basic, allowing many of today’s threats right in. To be perfectly frank, we see firsthand just how rudimentary both services email security is and we have seen those protections compromised having had clients nailed with ransomware. We never like to give that news or have a Client spend needless money to get their systems back up and running when they could have had the appropriate solution ahead of time.

“Why is it necessary to pay for this service, all of a sudden”  The truth of the matter is the criminals who write these malicious pieces of software have become more advanced and more calculated in their attacks. This has been an issue since 2017 when we saw ransomware and spear phishing attacks explode.

How Ransomware and Spear Phishing Work (The Movie Box Summary)

While it’s far more complicated than the way I will describe it, the basics of it are as follows. An unprotected or inadequately protected email box receives an email. These emails are truly works of art! Think of some of the movie’s you have seen with a professional forger, you know, the one who creates exact replicas of a painting. These “Phishers” (for lack of better term) send you an email that looks so legitimate that maybe you open the attachment, click the link, or perhaps you receive a window that looks like the Microsoft or Gmail one you have seen in the past. Thinking it’s legit, you put in your username and password. The next thing you know they have access to your entire email box, calendars, etc. The person who wrote the “hack” then gets an automated notification and begins to watch your emails may be getting banking information or other personal details. They then use it to, perhaps, wire money from your bank or, in some cases, to blackmail you, the end user. We have seen this first hand, not just read about it in the headlines.

In the case of opening an attachment, the next thing you know is your machine or server is locked up and your data is inaccessible. As a Managed Service Provider, we have seen these dozens of times. Unfortunately, if you do pay the ransom, it’s really a 50/50 shot whether or not they come through with the code/combination.

In the case of opening an attachment, the next thing you know is your machine or server is locked up and your data is inaccessible. It’s the equivalent of taking all of your data, tossing it into a safe and selling you the combination. As a Managed Service Provider, we have seen these dozens of times. Unfortunately, if you do pay the ransom, it’s really a 50/50 shot whether or not they come through with the code/combination.

When implementing more security there is always some sacrifice to usability, whether it’s a warning screen about scans causing you an extra click, a few legit emails being blocked (which can be fixed), etc., but you have to ask yourself, “is the benefit of the security, worth the small sacrifice to usability?”

In comes Fuse’s Advanced Email Security with Anti-Threat Detection!

Our new age solution is smart it not only blocks spam through the typical methods and databases checks. It runs Anti-virus and the Anti-Threat piece detection will actually open an attachment in the cloud to see if it “blows up” (so to speak) a virtual machine, if it’s clear it then allows it through.

Many ask how will I know if I miss an email? Fuse gives users the ability to log in and see which messages were allowed and which were denied. We are also more than happy to give you reports on demand or white-list certain email domains. You can simply pick up the phone and give us a ring, shoot over an email or utilize the self-service, this is a completely managed solution! What’s even better is that the service can be placed in front of Office 365, Gmail or even a local or hosted Exchange server.

While no solution is 100%, Fuse believes that our Advanced Email Protection is an absolute must in any organizations security plan!