We need to keep learning about all aspects of cyber security. For the last seven days I have shared one short segment out of the Cyber and Physical Security Special Report to highlight an aspect of cyber security that you need to be aware of. The seventh and final cyber tip on email content filters is below:
Email Content Filters
What they are: A protective barrier against attacks delivered via email
messages.
What they do: I dentify and block malware in email messages and
attachments before they can infect agency resources.
Bottom line: Email messages remain one of the biggest vulnerabilities
for agencies. Sophisticated “spear phishing” attacks, which mimic
messages from trusted sources, lure people to click on infected
attachments or links to malevolent websites. Without effective
content screening, these actions could result in rootkits,
key loggers and viruses infiltrating agency IT operations.
Unfortunately, because these filters work by identifying
characteristics of known malware, they aren’t effective
against new “zero day” threats that haven’t yet been
fully documented by security groups.
