Is Your Inbox a Cybersecurity Risk?

In today’s flexible and fast-paced digital environment, email still remains the backbone of communication for many organizations. Employee email accounts are chock-full of sensitive information from intellectual property to customer data, which makes securing email servers crucial. Data leakage and unauthorized access not only disrupt operations and cost time and money to fix, but they can also damage an organization’s reputation. 

A security service edge (SSE) solution is one tool organizations can use to safeguard email and protect sensitive data, and we explored these protections in depth during a recent session of our Mastering SSE webinar series, Email Eavesdroppers: Keeping Your Messages Private. In this blog, we’ll break down some of the key challenges organizations face when it comes to securing email and demonstrate how the Lookout Cloud Security Platform can help. 

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Top email security risks  

Despite advancements in cybersecurity technology, email communication continues to be a common avenue for breaches and accidental data leakage. These are three of the most common email security challenges organizations still face. 

Unintended recipients 

Everyone has been there. You press send on an email only to realize instead of emailing Trent in Accounting, you’ve accidentally sent your expense report to Trent the Third-Party Vendor. Whether caused by a typo or an autocomplete error, putting the wrong recipient in the “to” field can result in accidental data leakage. While this may seem like a low-stakes error, sending sensitive data to the incorrect contact can be a potential breach of data privacy regulations. 

Intellectual property exposure 

Business critical information like product designs or research data are often communicated via email. But when this information is shared without adequate protection, there’s a risk it may be copied, stolen, or leaked to competitors. Often, there are no safeguards to that sensitive business information from being forwarded or used without consent. 

Inadequate protections for external communications

Third-party partners and vendors are often an integral part of business operations — but communicating with them via email can add another layer of complexity. Not all third-party partners have the same robust security measures as your organization. This means if you send sensitive data to a contractor via email and then your contractor’s email gets breached, your data will be compromised. 

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Must-have features to shore up your email security 

Organizations need comprehensive solutions to mitigate email security risks and protect sensitive information, and Lookout offers powerful features designed to safeguard your communication and prevent embarrassing moments when confidential data lands in the wrong inbox.

Mask sensitive information in email messages 

One of Lookout’s key features is its ability to detect and mask sensitive content within email messages. The Lookout Secure Email Gateway scans messages to identify confidential information and obscure it before the email is sent on to its final recipient. 

For example, a financial services firm might configure Lookout to identify account numbers in outgoing emails. When these numbers are detected, they will be automatically masked to ensure data privacy and reduce the risk of accidental exposure. 

Protect attachments with DRM 

Because sensitive attachments can be vulnerable to unauthorized sharing or modification, Lookout uses digital rights management (DRM) capabilities to add a layer of protection. 

By encrypting attachments or applying watermarks, organizations retain control over who can view, edit, and share files that contain sensitive information. Even if a document is shared externally, a watermark will identify the source and deter data leaks. 

Control external recipient access 

If you’re working on a confidential project with third-party partners, you can configure Lookout to monitor recipient lists and prevent unauthorized access. If unauthorized contacts are detected, they will be automatically excluded from receiving sensitive communications. 

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Strengthen your email security with Lookout SSE 

Email communication remains essential to daily operations, but it also comes with inherent security risks. Protecting sensitive information, managing external communications, and preventing accidental exposure are critical steps to preventing business email compromise.

With the Lookout Cloud Security Platform, you can implement robust security measures that protect your organization’s data without hindering productivity. And if you’re ready to take your email security to the next level, watch our Email Eavesdroppers: Keeping Your Messages Private webinar to