Don’t want your business to be a victim of email scams?
There are a ton of features that go into finding the ideal email hosting provider. But if your prospective provider isn’t rocking solid security features…
It doesn’t matter what else they have to offer.
Imagine leaving your front door wide open every day and wondering why burglars keep stealing your stuff.
Pretty foolish.
This problem is only going to continue getting worse as cybercriminals become more advanced and their attacks become harder to detect.
Let’s face the facts…
Around 90% of cyberattacks begin with a phishing email. If someone can access your email inbox, they basically own you.
The bright side?
If you choose an email hosting provider with powerful security features, you’ll be much less likely to fall victim to cyberattacks.
Here’s what this article covers:
- Just how important is email security?
- 6 Security features you should never compromise on
- How to find the best email hosting provider
Just How Important Is Email Security?
Email security should be every business’s top priority.
Cybercriminals are flooding the world with 3.4 BILLION phishing emails every day. Can you even imagine? And they’re not your run-of-the-mill scam emails…
These days phishing emails are becoming harder to spot. Even IT professionals are clicking on sneaky malicious links!
When looking for the best email hosting Singapore companies or wherever you’re located, security should be your number one concern. Don’t sacrifice security for price.
Better email hosting services understand the importance of security and offer features that work around the clock to protect your inbox.
Don’t worry though…
Security features can vary from email host to host. Some hosts skimp on security to offer lower prices.
But that’s a big risk you don’t want to take.
6 Security Features You Should Never Compromise On
Alright, so security is important, but what should you look for?
There are certain must-have security features every reputable email hosting service should offer. If they don’t offer these features, move along friend, they’re not the host for you.
Let’s dive right in…
End-To-End Encryption
If you take anything away from this list, let it be encryption.
Encryption is essential to protect your data from prying eyes.
Imagine letting your employees send sensitive information over email without worrying about anyone else reading their messages.
That’s what encryption does for you.
Only the people you give access to can view that data.
Your email host should provide:
- TLS encryption
- AES 256-bit file encryption
- S/MIME support
Without email encryption, your information can be read whenever it’s in transit.
Spam And Phishing Protection
These days spam filters are actually pretty intelligent.
They use machine learning and sophisticated algorithms to detect malicious links and quarantine them.
Top rated email hosting services will even update their threat databases in realtime to prevent the latest hacking techniques.
Good spam filters:
- Scan attachments for viruses
- Check links against a malicious link database
- Analyze email content for suspicious wording
- Rank each email sender’s reputation
All of these tasks are completed in milliseconds without you even knowing it’s happening.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Remember when passwords weren’t enough to protect you?
Enter multifactor authentication.
This is an extra layer of protection that requires a second form of identification to access your email account.
This may seem like overkill, but if someone hacks your password through a phishing scam they’ll be out of luck if you have MFA enabled.
DMARC, SPF, And DKIM Authentication
If you want to ensure your email truly comes from you, implement these three features.
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work together to make it easier for email providers to verify that mail originates from your domain.
Here’s how they break down:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework) verifies the sending server
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) creates a digital signature
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) instructs receivers what to do when an email fails verification
When used together, it makes it incredibly difficult for hackers to spoof your domain.
Data Loss Prevention
Mistakenly sending an email to the wrong person is always a possibility.
Data loss prevention searches emails for sensitive data. This includes social security numbers, bank account information, and even passwords.
Want to know the best part?
It stops these emails from being sent. So if your employee accidentally hits “send”, you’ll have time to catch it.
Advanced Threat Protection
Hackers are constantly finding new ways to trick your employees.
These are called zero-day attacks because the vulnerability didn’t previously exist…
Until now.
To protect your business from zero-day attacks, your email host should utilize advanced threat protection.
This works by using sandboxing technology and behavioral analysis to detect unknown malware.
Email attachments are opened in a sandbox environment to test for malicious behavior BEFORE it hits your inbox.
How Do You Compare Providers?
Still not sure how to evaluate which providers are best?
As long as you ask yourself these questions, you’ll be fine:
- Do they utilize end-to-end encryption?
- Is spam and phishing protection included?
- Is multi-factor authentication included or do you pay extra?
- How often do they experience server outages? (Look for 99.999% uptime)
- Where are their data centers located?
- Do they offer enterprise-grade security?
- Are they compliant with necessary security regulations?
If they’re a quality provider, this info will be available on their website. If not, ask their sales rep!
Here’s what you should look out for
- Sugar coated security information
- No mention of encryption
- Charges extra for security features
- Horrible customer service reviews
Don’t rush this process. Scoring that deal on hosted emails will be the worst decision you ever make.
Ready To Choose The Best Email Hosting Provider?
Picking an email hosting service shouldn’t be taken lightly.
While no one can tell you which provider to choose, this guide covers what you should look for.
All of the security features discussed above are requirements, not nice-to-haves.
Think about it…
Cybercriminals are constantly creating new phishing schemes. You need to be sure that your email host is upgrading their security features to keep up.
Whatever provider you go with, make sure they heavily invest in their security infrastructure.
Providers that stay ahead of security threats will offer the best protection for you and your business.
Time To Wrap Things Up
In a world where phishing scams are the number one attack vector for cyber criminals.
You can’t afford to not have a secure email hosting provider.
Here’s your recap:
- End-to-end encryption
- Spam and phishing protection
- Multi-factor authentication
- DMARC / SPF / DKIM set up
- Data loss prevention
- Advanced threat protection
Ask yourself if your prospective providers offer these features. And if they don’t, question why?
You can do this.
