Email Security
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Threats to Your Email
A variety of different kinds of attacks can affect email users. The most common and least harmful of these is spam, which are unsolicited advertising emails. If you use any modern email service, you are probably accustomed to clearing out your spam box or junk folder after an automatic spam filter places them there.
More harmful types of email attacks include viruses, worms, and trojans. These forms of malware are delivered as email attachments that the user downloads unwittingly. Viruses can render a computer completely unusable, while worms can delete important files and spread through organizations automatically. Trojans can remain on a system surreptitiously, feeding private information to its creator like credit card and Social Security numbers.
Phishing is another, increasingly common type of attack. It is a very effective way of stealing information from users by sending emails under the guise of a bank, store, or other online service they might use. Ordinarily, it prompts its victims to follow a link to a “dummy website” that looks like the online service, and enter account information and credit card numbers.
Your Email Server Security
With data stored on your own servers, your email security is only as good as the weakest link in your infrastructure. To make matters worse, information is all stored locally on users’ machines, and as such, administrators have little control over the data being lost, stolen or corrupted. In addition, all this user software must still be licensed, installed, patched, and upgraded on a constant basis.
Google’s Email Server Security
Google Apps offers a true cloud model, and with this model comes the inherent security of the cloud. Google’s multi-layered security strategy keeps information safe at each stage of data storage, access and transfer, with features like two-step verification and account activity reporting. Data will never be lost because a user’s hard drive crashed, a computer was stolen or onsite data was compromised by fire or floods. Keeping your data in the cloud means keeping your data safe— 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Google Message Security
Google Apps includes the Postini service Google Message Security, which is a proven and innovative system for email and online security. Google Message Security blocks spam, phishing attacks, and viruses in emails. Some of the most noteworthy features of these products are:
- Custom spam filters
- Custom password strength requirements
- Email encryption
- Custom protocol for emails containing sensitive information
- SSL and TLS protocols
- Guaranteed availability and delivery
