Email gateways use signature and reputation-based detection methods to safeguard against known email threats. Reputation-based detection scans and blocks emails from blacklisted IP addresses and senders, while signature-based detection examines email messages for signs of known threats and stops malicious messages from reaching the recipient.
Secure email gateways, once considered a reliable defense against cybercriminals, are susceptible to most modern cyberthreats. Here are a few reasons why:
Limited protection against unknown threats
The vast majority of cyberthreats are unknown to reputation and signature-based scanners. These messages can bypass detection by email gateways and reach recipients even if they’re malicious.
MX record change
Implementing an email gateway requires modifying the MX record, which can expose information about your email security to hackers. MX records, responsible for routing emails to a domain, are publicly accessible.
Lack of internal protection
Email gateways operate outside of the local network, leaving the organization vulnerable to internal threats and insider attacks.
Absence of post-delivery remediation
Secure email gateways offer no way of addressing malicious emails once they have passed through the gateway. As a result, potentially malicious messages remain in users’ mailboxes, exposing them to threats.
