Do You Need A Spam Filter?

TTT: Do You Need A Spam Filter?

According to statistics from DataProt, spam emails account for 45% of your email inbox — out of which 73% aim at stealing your identity or those of your users.

It’s no news that cyberattacks have continuously been on the rise recently. The two most common attack vectors are phishing and malware, both of which mostly rely on spam emailing.

Typically, a bad cyber actor will send you spam emails with infected links or images embedded in them. On clicking these attachments, they harvest your credentials or encrypt your data so you can’t access it. Now that most organizations rely on emails to conduct business, you can be sure that such attacks are not going anywhere anytime soon.

In What Ways Can Spams Affect Your Business?

• Spam-related Cyberattacks: The most obvious threat is the accompanying security risks; up to 94% of all spam emails have malicious attachments. A successful attack would not only disrupt your operations but also cause you massive financial losses. Besides, you risk severe damage to your public image.
• Unproductive Workers: Having your inbox chock-filled with irrelevant messages wastes a lot of your staff’s productive time. The time and effort spent trying to sort bonafide emails and updating spam filters could otherwise be channeled to other core business operations.

Even though there is no evidence of spam emails slowing down corporate websites, we all agree that they are annoying. You must have heard stories or first-hand experience waiting for an email attachment to download for minutes, only to find out that it’s spam from a ‘Nigerian Prince.’  One of the most sought-after help desk services from Colorado Computer Support is spam filtering, and reasonably so.

How About Microsoft’s Inbuilt Spam Filter, How Reliable Is It?

According to Microsoft, their spam filter has a 99% spam catch rate. However, several cybersecurity stakeholders disagree with this. So, just exactly how reliable is the inbuilt M365 spam filter?

If you have blind faith in the 0365 spam filter, you might have to reconsider your stance. The truth is that Office 365 is an excellent tool for productivity, but its email security features do not match up to the demands of modern businesses. A recent study by Osterman Research reveals that while the M365 spam filter is relatively productive, most advanced targeted threats bypass it.

For instance, a non-malicious URL that links to malware will easily go undetected by the 0365’s EOP. This gives attackers an avenue to launch more damaging attacks on your systems. If a malicious email can pass through your gateway, then your systems are as good as hacked.

Why Do You Need A Spam Filter?

• Humans Are the Weakest Link When it Comes to Technology: And bad cyber actors know this pretty well; they will always try to coax you into clicking malicious links. Email services provide them with an ample playground due to their extensive usage. That’s why spam filtering has become more relevant and essential to modern-day business. It’s an additional shield to protect your users from being exposed to these threats.
• Once a Spam Email Enters Your Inbox, Your Business Is Already a Potential Target: Radicati Research Group Inc. quantifies the annual cost of spams to U.S. businesses at $20.5 billion, and this figure continues to rise. Without a reliable spam filtering solution, your email systems won’t function well, and your network is more exposed to external threats.
• Spam Filters from Email Providers Focus on Sustaining the Usage and Functionality of Their Platforms: For the best results, however, you need a product whose stem focus is on spam filtering. The solution we use appraises you when you receive an email from an unknown source and warns you to be extra cautious. In case the sender is from a blacklisted database, the filter gives you the option to block or accept the email into your inbox. If you accidentally filter a legitimate email, you can always reverse the process. The baseline is that a reliable spam filter prevents all malicious contents and links from entering your inbox.

If you have any questions about email spam filtering, whether you are using it right or implementing it yourself, Colorado Computer Support is always ready to help. Call us now at (719) 310-3035.