Though most of us are ambiguously aware of the dangers of opening email attachments or clicking on suspicious links, few fully comprehend the importance of email security or consider a coordinated approach to implementing it. Here are 4 simple tips for securing your email accounts and improving your business’s cyber security.

Utilize Office 365 Tools

Microsoft Outlook is the email client of the top choice for many people. For nearly 25 years, popular software has been the backbone of businesses, and it continues to add new features and services. Outlook, as a quality part of the Office 365 suite, now offers close integration with Microsoft Teams and other software, as well as a variety of communication and planning tools.

Using Outlook as Office 365, you should consider enabling several security features. While Exchange Online Protection provides basic spam and malware protection for all accounts, Microsoft Defender will provide additional protection at various levels depending on your Office license.

Additionally, there are enhanced security features that are unique to Office 365. The Security Compliance Center lets you set up alerts for suspicious activity and immediately notify administrators, whereas the Unified Audit Log lets you record and reverse major events. Office 365 also includes strong encryption features, such as limiting emails with a one-time password and ensuring they are only available and interpreted within the Office 365 environment.

Common Indicators

The following are common indicators of a malicious email:

  • Mistakes in the email’s title or body
  • The email address does not generally correspond to the company.
  • Content that is not tailored to you or your company
  • Requests that you click on a link or download an attachment
  • Executable attachments (.exe) or archived (.rar,.zip)
  • Unusual connections
  • Images of poor quality or that are incorrect
  • A footer that is unusual or incorrect

Keep Your Passwords Safe

Password protection within an organization entails establishing best practices. While there are numerous methods for securing passwords, one of the simplest is to use a password manager. Password managers enable you to generate unique passwords for each application and website you use, including email clients. This necessitates using a single password for the password manager that is complex enough to be virtually impenetrable and is changed regularly.

Utilize Secure Protocols

You must guarantee that your emails are encrypted if you are not using Office 365 or another software platform that includes encryption by default. Encryption ensures that emails cannot be read while in transit to their destination, a process that involves multiple points of contact. Consider it like an open envelope: it’s safe when you or the recipient have it, but not when it’s in the postage system.

Final Thoughts

Proactive changes to company policies and an active effort to engage employees in good security measures are required for good email security. You can go a long way toward making your email accounts watertight and preventing a significant avenue for online criminals by changing your behaviour and improving the tools you use to secure email messages and accounts.