Email Safety: Threats and Precautions

Email Safety: Threats and Precautions In 2019, 3.9 billion individuals used emails and their number is set to grow to 4.48 billion users in 2024 (Statista, 2021). List of Threats to Emails - Spam emails that use up your server space. - Infected attachments you receive. - Phishing attacks that trick you into clicking on links to have access to your personal information then threaten you. Important Key Words to Keep in Mind - End-to-end encryption is the method that stops third parties from accessing data shared between the sender and the receiver. - Multifactor authentication is the method that provides an extra layer of verification once you enter your password to access your email. Tips to Protect your Email - Use end-to-end encrypted email services such as outlook, yahoo, iCloud mail…etc. - Use multifactor authentication. - Separate your personal email from your work email. - Don’t recycle passwords, use different passwords for different accounts. - Use a VPN when you need to check your email while connected to a public Wi-Fi network. - Never include sensitive information, and never accept sending them if asked to. - Don’t click on links before validating them and checking if the website address is correct. - Never open unexpected attachments; even from known senders. - Scan emails and attachments for malware. Make sure that junk/spam filters are active. - Don’t click unsubscribe in spam emails, it will generate more spam. - Don’t use public devices to reach your emails. - Don’t provide your email to untrusted websites or online services. - Don’t ignore security updates. - Add a security statement to the end of your emails, asking them not to be forwarded. - Use a specific signature to confirm your identity. - Don’t broadcast the email when sending to multiple receivers, only CC them. Always double-check the authenticity of the emails before clicking on any links or downloading any attachments, and directly delete any spam messages.