As remote working becomes the new normal, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your team has strong Email Security protocols. With cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated in their tactics, businesses need to stay one step ahead of them. It is important to ensure your company’s data remains secure.

Fortunately, there are several measures your team can take to protect your team from falling prey to malicious emails or other threats.

Implement Two-Factor Authentication for All Email Accounts

Implementing two-factor authentication on email accounts is an effective way to improve security for Remote Teams. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to enter a one-time verification code. They do this after entering their username and password when signing into their email accounts.

This helps protect against potential attackers who may have gained access to a user’s primary login credentials or used other means of compromising their account. 2FA also helps prevent malicious software from accessing accounts. Most malicious programs cannot generate the verification code required for 2FA.

Additionally, using two-factor authentication offers improved visibility into user activity on the account. For instance, administrators can receive notifications of suspicious sign-ins. They can then take appropriate action if someone attempts to access an account without having the correct verification code.

Include Cybersecurity Training Sessions in Onboarding Processes

To ensure the privacy and security of these emails, many teams include cybersecurity training sessions as part of their onboarding processes. Including such sessions in the onboarding process helps ensure that all team members understand online security measures. This will help employees know what to do when sending emails.

This includes information on how to create strong passwords, change them regularly, store them securely, and update anti-virus software, vpn software and firewalls. It also informs people about what types of suspicious links or attachments to look out for in emails.

As well as educating employees on the potential online threats they may face while sending emails, such training sessions can also help raise awareness of cyber security’s importance within a company culture.

Use Secure Protocols like IMAP and SMTP

Using secure email protocols like IMAP and SMTP can be beneficial for remote teams that need secure communication. For example, IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is an application-layer protocol. It allows for accessing and managing emails stored on a remote server.

This protocol provides better accessibility and flexibility. It allows users to access emails from multiple devices, such as laptops, tablets, and even smartphones. IMAP also allows users to keep the same email inbox across all devices instead of having different ones for each device.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a transport layer protocol. It transmits emails between servers over the internet, thus allowing users to send emails from one device to another. SMTP ensures that the data is in an encrypted form during transit.

Additionally, companies can use SMTP to authenticate a user’s identity before allowing them to send messages from their account. This helps prevent malicious activity such as spamming or phishing attempts.

These security protocols are becoming more popular amongst remote teams for several reasons:

• They help provide a higher level of security by encrypting data transmissions during transit and authenticating a user’s identity before sending messages.
• They offer greater accessibility by allowing users to access the same inbox. Users can use them with multiple devices, regardless of location or platform.
• They make it easier for remote teams to collaborate. This enables members to send messages back and forth without worrying about security risks or data breaches.

If SMTP and IMAP aren’t ideal for your company, you can also work with a third party to keep your information secure. Encyro provides straightforward email encryption and a secure file-sharing service. You can access their security measures from any web browser or even Outlook. With its user-friendly interface, it makes protecting your data fast and simple.

Regularly Review Employees’ Mailboxes

Reviewing employee email mailboxes can be an effective way to improve email security for remote teams. These security best practices for remote teams help ensure that employees are using their email boxes appropriately. This also helps identify malicious emails and take action against them.

This also provides an excellent opportunity to review company policies and protocols. It ensures policies are up-to-date and relevant. If employees are receiving personal mail or subscription chains in their work inbox, it can compromise the organization’s security. It’s important to have a distinction between work and personal mail for the best data security. Another vital step is doing a DMARC check to keep your employee’s mailboxes safe from malicious attacks.

By reviewing employee email boxes, employers can spot malicious activity early. For example, if an employee sends out large amounts of spam emails, this could be easily spotted and addressed.

Similarly, an employee may use their work email account for non-work related activities. You can detect these things during reviews and take the necessary steps to prevent any further misuse of company resources. You can even use one of the best notion widgets to track and analyze this email data without even logging into your account. With Plus you can take a snapshot of the data page and it will automatically refresh the screenshot with updated data by the hour.

Reviewing employee email mailboxes also enables organizations to identify potential security flaws in their system. For example, organizations can detect any unusual or suspicious activity that may indicate someone has unauthorized access to the system. Periodically examining all incoming and outgoing emails from a given mailbox is an excellent method to use.

You can then patch vulnerabilities quickly to minimize the risk of a data breach or similar incident occurring in the future.

Utilize Digital Signatures

Digital signatures are a type of cryptographic technology that helps protect emails from interception or falsification in transit. They verify both the sender’s identity and the content’s integrity. This ensures that only authorized persons can access the information.

This means emails containing sensitive data remain secure and you can trust them even if you receive them across unsecured networks.

The use of digital signatures also ensures that businesses identify any changes made to a message during transport immediately. You can identify any alteration or corruption through an analysis of the digital signature. This allows organizations to take appropriate measures with minimal disruption.

In addition, users can present evidence of authenticity during legal proceedings. Each message contains an electronic fingerprint, making them tamper-proof and non-forgeable.

One major benefit of using digital signatures is that they are effortless to deploy and use. They do not require additional software or hardware outside of what’s already available on many computers today.

All users need is a certificate associated with their identity. This certification should have verification from a third-party Certificate Authority (CA). After this verification process is complete, you can then use these certificates to sign outgoing messages. You can also use them to authenticate incoming ones, significantly bolstering email security for remote teams.

Conclusion

Keeping email communications secure is becoming increasingly important. This is especially true for remote teams who may not access the same physical security measures as an on-premises workforce.

It is vital to maximize the efficiency of communication while still maintaining adequate levels of security. Organizations should consider implementing digital signatures. They should also provide comprehensive cybersecurity training to team members.

Ultimately, the greater security of email communications will translate into a safer and more secure working environment for all team members. Using proper protocols will allow for greater productivity and compliance among employees.

The post 5 Recommendations to Improve Email Security for Remote Teams appeared first on Exeleon Magazine.