Email is an essential communication tool for all businesses. It allows for easy internal communication and it’s a brilliant marketing tool as well. However, email does pose a security risk and a lot of businesses leave themselves exposed because they don’t have the right security measures in place. These are the most effective ways to increase email security in your business.
Use A Strong Password
Using strong passwords is the most basic security tip there is, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t follow it. If you use a weak password, you make it so simple for hackers to gain access to your email account and that’s bad news if your employees are sending sensitive information back and forth. The reason that most people don’t set strong passwords is that they don’t want to remember lengthy, complicated passwords. The easiest way around that is to use a password manager, but it’s important that you choose a reliable one. Here is a thorough review of Abine Blur, which is a decent password manager that also offers a lot of other great security tools. It includes things like email masking, so you can hide your email address if needed, which is ideal for email security. By using a password manager, you can make sure that all of your employees are using a strong password and they don’t have to worry about forgetting their password.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a simple but effective security option that most email providers offer. When you log in, you provide your normal password and then a code will be texted to your phone and you can only gain access to your account once this code is entered. This means that even if somebody hacks your password, they can’t get into your account. It only takes a second to activate but it makes your email accounts so much safer.
Always Encrypt Your Emails
When you send emails, there is a chance that they will be intercepted, which is a huge problem if they contain sensitive information. That’s why you should always give yourself an added layer of protection by encrypting your emails. Even if somebody does intercept it, they will not be able to see the content without knowing the password. Although the password can still be cracked, you make life a lot more difficult for hackers.
Watch Out For Phishing Emails
It’s not just the outgoing emails that you need to be worried about because hackers will use phishing emails to attempt to get past your defenses. If you or one of your employees clicks on a link in one of these malicious emails, you open up a back door and leave yourself vulnerable. Unfortunately, phishing emails look very convincing and it’s easy to be fooled by them, so it’s important that you learn how to spot them. If in doubt, don’t click a link without scanning the email first.
Email is an incredibly effective business tool but it’s important that you know how to use it safely. Otherwise, you could be putting your business in serious danger.
