Cloud based anti spam software is the most cost-effective way to mitigate the risks from email threats such as malware, phishing and ransomware. Provided as “Software-as-a-Service”, cloud-based anti spam services have no set-up costs, minimal maintenance overheads, fully automated updating and eliminate the need for client based software by protecting the network as a whole unit.
Taking just minutes to implement, cloud based anti spam software is managed via a centralized multi-level administration portal. Via the portal, network administrators can select and adjust appropriate acceptable spam thresholds by user, user-group or company-wide, choose how quarantined email is managed, and pull reports to identify risks from both outside and within the network.
How Cloud Anti Spam Solutions Protect Networks
Cloud anti spam solutions use various mechanisms to mitigate the risk from email threats, but not all solutions are the same. Most use Real Time Blocklists (RBLs) to prevent the delivery of emails from known sources of spam, and allow administrators to apply Sender Policy Frameworks and recipient verification tools to prevent email spoofing and reject emails sent to non-existent company addresses.
It is also common for cloud anti spam solutions to include antivirus software among their online security mechanisms to check for malware hidden within email attachments. Some also include phishing protection and malicious URL detection to check links within emails that could be potentially unsafe. However, in order to maximize network protection, a cloud anti spam solution should also include “greylisting” among its features.
“Greylisting” is a process in which every inbound email is initially rejected. The email is returned to its originating mail server with a request to resend the email. Spammers´ servers are often too busy to respond to the request, and the rejected spam email is never returned. By eliminating spam emails from “as-yet-unknown” sources of spam as well as known sources of spam, cloud based anti spam software with greylisting can achieve spam detection rates in excess of 99.9%. Greylisting is used in conjunction with whitelists, so as not to delay emails from trusted senders.
Cloud-based spam filters also include antivirus engines to block malware and ransomware. While AV engines will block 100% of known malware, they will not block zero-day threats – malware that has not yet been identified by AV vendors. A cloud-based antispam solution that includes sandboxing will help to block these zero-day threats. Suspicious email attachments are sent to the sandbox for in depth analysis to identify command and control server callbacks and other malicious actions.
Cloud Based Anti Spam Software and Outbound Scanning
One other feature not always present in cloud anti spam solutions is outbound scanning. This is an important security mechanism for two reasons – the first being that outbound scanning will identify attempts by cybercriminals to use compromised company email accounts for sending malware and phishing emails internally and to clients and other contacts.
Sending out malware-infected or phishing emails can have serious implications for a company. A company’s reputation can be damaged and the company’s IP address or its entire domain could be blacklisted by ISPs and email service providers, resulting in a loss of business and a loss of credibility. Reversal of the blacklisting process can take up to a week, potentially costing a company a significant amount of money.
The second reason is that it is not inconceivable an employee could use their own email account for conducting spam campaigns or other malicious activities. Tags can also be added to certain data types to detect and block attempts by employees to steal data or accidental policy violations for compliance purposes.
The SpamTitan Cloud Anti Spam Solution
SpamTitan´s cloud anti spam solution is a complete cloud based anti spam software package. It includes the full range of mechanisms mentioned above to protect networks from inbound email threats along with outbound scanning to protect a company’s reputation and for data loss prevention. SpamTitan´s cloud based anti spam software can also help enhance employee productivity by blocking access to productivity draining websites.
Research has shown the effect of spam email on productivity can be significant. It takes an average of four seconds for a security-conscious employee to identify and delete a spam email. For a company with two hundred employees – each receiving six emails per day – this can mean 50 days of lost productivity per year.
With a verified spam detection rate of 99.97%, SpamTitan eliminates practically all spam email – minimizing the risk from email threats and reducing productivity losses. At a typical cost of less than $10.00 per user per year, SpamTitan is one of the most cost-effective of all cloud anti spam solutions – both for companies who implement our cloud based anti spam software directly and for Managed Service Providers who want to protect their clients from spam and malicious emails.
Try Our Cloud Based Anti Spam Software for Free
If you are in the process of investigating cloud based anti spam software, and would like the opportunity to evaluate SpamTitan in your own environment, we invite you to take a trial of cloud anti spam solution for free.