News – There has been a recent increase in unsolicited emails and viruses

With more people working online during the pandemic, the number of unsolicited emails and viruses they encounter has also increased. People expect to receive several email correspondences in one day, and they can sometimes become less careful when choosing the messages they open. 

To compound this cybersecurity threat, attackers take advantage of the current situation by sending spam emails that look like messages relating to topical subjects. Malicious messages will sometimes use headers related to Covid-19 vaccines, courier services, or health alerts to trick users into opening email viruses or clicking on dangerous links. 

Here’s how malicious, unwarranted emails sent by other companies get in the way of your emails getting delivered – and how you can fight these attempts by improving your email security. 

The dangers of spam

Spam emails have been a cybersecurity issue since long before the pandemic. Users often receive messages that seem like harmless email marketing, but are actually attackers attempting to scam the recipient or send viruses to them. These unsolicited emails can infect a computer upon opening the email or attachment, or may contain links that lead to malicious websites. 

Although many suspicious messages are usually filtered out by email providers in Australia, users still face cyber threats that slip through the cracks. 

Successful breaches can then cause considerable damage to the recipient. Attackers use phishing emails to steal personal information, including usernames, passwords, and banking data. Ransomware – as the name suggests – holds your data for ransom by encrypting it, and only releasing it for a considerable fee. Viruses can also be used to send messages to others in the victim’s network, either to continue spreading the malware, or to obtain valuable or sensitive information relating to the victim’s company. In the worst cases, victims can suffer identity theft or even millions of dollars in losses. 

Attackers design emails to imitate correspondence sent from trusted users, such as friends, co-workers, or well-known brands. A common tactic is spoofing, which occurs when an attacker disguises their identity to trick potential victims. Spoofing includes using fake sender addresses to impersonate someone you know, or even using an IP address that imitates a trustworthy source. Email spoofing can convince your computer that a message carrying malicious viruses is an advertisement sent by an email marketing agency. 

The harm caused by spoofing is two-pronged. The direct victim may suffer great inconvenience or material losses. Furthermore, pretending to be a trustworthy sender can also damage the reputation and brand image of the impersonated domains. When consumers and email service providers start to associate your domain with viruses and phishing emails, people lose trust in your brand. More importantly, it may result in your emails getting blocked or deleted before they can be seen. 

Even with the best email marketing strategies, your brand’s visibility can be severely limited when users flag your advertisements as spam or phishing emails.

How can DMARC help prevent spoofing?

Despite the threats that spoofing represents, sophisticated attacks like spoofing are still manageable. The best Email marketing service providers can protect their clients by adopting policies like Domain Based Message Authentication Reporting (DMARC). DMARC is a security email protocol that verifies email senders by using the combined authentication techniques of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), which contain records of trusted senders and domains. 

A DMARC policy checks for inconsistencies between the source of an email and the email address as it appears to the recipient. If the message fails to pass DMARC validation, a report can be sent to the entity that the unsolicited message is trying to imitate. DMARC can even assist email marketing software by providing instructions to the recipient of a spoofing email on how to manage the threat. The user may be asked to either reject or quarantine the unwarranted messages so that any potential viruses will not infect the user’s computer. 

DMARC was first popularised by the financial services sector as an important defense against cyber-attacks by companies that sent malware and viruses to its users. However, the value of this tool is evident across all industries. The best Email marketing platforms are now adopting DMARC and other authentication protocols to filter out malicious emails, so that more legitimate communication can get through.

By helping to track spoofing attempts, the DMARC validation process helps email marketing software in Australia maintain brand trust. This ensures that your marketing emails are still shown to be from a trusted source, thereby maintaining your reach to potential customers. 

Get the right support 

With increased digitisation comes an increase in spam, email viruses and other cyber threats. Although hackers might use methods like spoofing to try get past basic screening the best email service providers in Australia use security tools like DMARC to help prevent attacks and thwart companies that try to use your domain to take advantage of your customers and your brand.

That is why the PRODOCOM system utilises our experience and never uses spoofing – to help make sure that your emails reach the inboxes of your target audience. Apart from being the best email service in Australia, our support team can help you set up better email security to ensure that your marketing is received and read!