What's the biggest cyber threat to your company at the moment?

Did you know that over 40% of all reported cyber events in South Africa are related to Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams? These are the most common cyber threats to companies at the moment and account for around $3 billion (~R52.7bn) in losses worldwide. They take advantage of human weakness to trick staff members into disclosing private information or approving fraudulent transactions.

Even though antivirus programs and firewalls are crucial security precautions, they are often insufficient to completely prevent business email compromise attacks. BEC threats are painstakingly designed to look authentic; they imitate emails from reliable sources, such as suppliers, CEOs, or colleagues.

Recognising email compromise in business

BEC threats are a broad category of email-based fraud designed to coerce workers into doing tasks on behalf of the attacker. Among the most popular strategies are:

• Phishing emails - These emails appear to come from a reliable source, such as a bank, client, or a business associate. The email might have a malicious attachment or link that, when clicked, downloads malware or takes users to a fake website intended to steal login credentials.
  
• Spoofing attacks - Cybercriminals can alter email headers to give the impression that a reliable sender, such as a manager or coworker, sent the message. These emails often utilise a sense of urgency, encouraging staff members to take immediate action and circumvent standard security procedures.
  
• Invoice fraud - Fraudulent invoices can be sent through emails by con artists posing as reputable suppliers. These documents can ask for money to be sent to a separate account that the attacker has taken control of.
  
• Account takeover - Hackers can access a valid email account through successful phishing or malware attacks. Once in charge, they can pretend to be the account owner and send emails to partners, clients, or coworkers.

BEC attacks are effective because they take advantage of human psychology. They trick staff members into making security errors by preying on their fears, anxieties, and sense of urgency. BEC scams pose a serious threat to companies of all sizes because they prey on human emotions as opposed to malware attacks, which depend on technological flaws.

SEACOM’s Email Security: All-inclusive defence

Spam filters and other conventional security measures are not always sufficient to effectively prevent BEC attacks. Advanced cyber security measures are needed to detect and stop fraudulent emails before they arrive in employee inboxes.

SEACOM's Email Security service offers advanced protection measures that help to prevent phishing scams, BEC attacks, and other email-borne threats. Our multi-layered security system provides your business with complete protection, comprising:

• Advanced threat protection - To detect and stop malware, spam, and phishing emails, our machine learning algorithms power email filtering technology.
  
• Real-time threat information - To ensure the best defence against the most recent attack techniques, we continuously update our filtering processes and use real-time information to identify emerging threats.
  
• Spoof detection - To stop fraudulent emails from seeming authentic, our system recognises and bans emails with spoof sender addresses.
  
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) - By preventing outgoing emails containing private information, including credit card numbers or client information, SEACOM's Email Security prevents the leakage of sensitive data.

Email Security: Advantages for enterprises

Enterprises can benefit from SEACOM Email Security in a number of ways. Firstly, it offers improved data integrity by minimising the possibility of sensitive data breaches due to phishing and BEC threats.

Email Security also offers enhanced compliance assurance. By protecting critical employee and customer data, SEACOM's Email Security, for instance, helps companies adhere to data privacy laws like the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). This also reduces business disruptions and the possibility that BEC scams will successfully breach email accounts.

As with any email threat, user awareness training is critical and employees need to be aware of these threats. IT managers need to create a cyber-aware culture and offer continuous training for employees to recognise and actively prevent phishing attacks and BEC.

All businesses are threatened by BEC attacks, so having sophisticated email security is vital. If you're looking for reliable cyber security solutions that are suited to enterprises, SEACOM is the perfect partner. Our skilled team of security experts will evaluate your company's cyber security posture and provide a tailored defence against phishing schemes, BEC threats and other dangers. For more information about our various cyber security solutions or to get a quote, email us at digitalservices@seacom.com or leave us a message.

SEACOM owns Africa’s most extensive network of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, including subsea cables and secure internet connections. We offer a diverse range of flexible, scalable and high-quality solutions for businesses that meet world-class standards for connectivity.

SEACOM is privately owned and operated, making it agile and adaptable to the needs of the customer. This makes us the preferred ICT and internet connectivity partner for African businesses and peripheral service providers. We can guarantee high-speed, low-latency and secure internet connections to corporates and small enterprises.

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