Mail Assure email security filter settings

Use advanced email filtering to help prevent a wide variety of social engineering attacks

In social engineering attacks, bad actors manipulate people into breaking normal security best practices in order to gain access to systems and networks for financial gain. Attacks conducted via email are some of the most popular social engineering techniques, as they provide a straightforward way to use human interaction as a form of exploitation.

N‑able Mail Assure is a cloud-based email security solution that helps prevent attacks via email, such as phishing and pretexting. Collective threat intelligence and machine learning make use of data from over 23 million mailboxes to protect against a wide variety of inbound and outbound email threats like social engineering attacks, spear phishing, malware, impersonation, spoofing, and more.

Mail Assure email filtering overview dashboard

Cut costs by combining spear phishing prevention with email protection in an affordable solution

Phishing and spear phishing attacks continue to rise, and scammers are getting better at crafting email campaigns that appear legitimate to users. The results of these attacks can include a lot of financial damage, not to mention damage done to a company’s reputation. As an MSP, implementing advanced email security solutions to prevent spear phishing and whaling attacks on your customers is critical.

To find the most cost-effective option, it’s best to choose a solution that includes spear phishing prevention by default—without any upcharges. Many vendors sell solutions individually by prevention type, but it’s more affordable for MSPs to choose a solution like N‑able Mail Assure, which includes spear phishing in one complete package.

The real-time pattern threat recognition utilized in N‑able Mail Assure leverages a variety of filtering technologies, including anti-phishing and impersonation protection. This enables MSPs to offer comprehensive protection from a simple, unified email security solution—at an affordable price.

Mail Assure user settings and password policies

Help prevent spear phishing and other targeted attacks with advanced threat protection

As an MSP, your customers expect you to protect them from targeted attacks. To do this, you need tools capable of providing advanced threat protection.

N‑able Mail Assure is designed to aid spear phishing prevention and guard against other email-borne threats like whaling, spoofing, ransomware, and CFO fraud. This cloud-based email security solution helps defend against social engineering attacks, as well as malicious links and attachments in emails.

To do this, Mail Assure scans every inbound and outbound email, analyzes the IP and domain reputation of each sender, and performs multiple checks of the headers, email body, and signature to combat phishing and spoofing attempts. Finally, Mail Assure supports SPF, DKIM, and DMARC so your customers can take every possible measure to help prevent targeted attacks on email.

Mail Assure log search query rules

Teach your customers how to recognize spear phishing emails and keep themselves safe

In order to help prevent social engineering attacks like spear phishing, security awareness training is just as important as implementing strong security solutions. Your MSP customers should be trained on how to recognize and report a malicious email. Your users should also have a good understanding of how their email security solution is protecting their organization.

Alongside user training, N‑able Mail Assure provides visibility and helps make security awareness easy. The multi-tenant web interface with predefined settings, reporting, and intuitive design gives users greater control over their email flow. Users have access to quarantine and spam reports, so they always have a complete view of potential attacks and an understanding of who is being targeted. Users also have the option to release, remove, deny, block, or allow messages, giving them total control over their email.

Get more on Spear Phishing Prevention

Frequently Asked Questions

What is spear phishing?

What is spear phishing?

Spear phishing is a type of social engineering attack in which a bad actor targets a specific organization or individual in order to get access to confidential information, trade secrets, or military data. Spear phishing emails usually appear to be from a trusted source, like someone within the target organization or someone the targeted individual knows personally. This kind of impersonation helps ease the recipient into a false sense of security, which increases the odds of success.

Attackers gather personal information about their target from social media profiles and curate a personalized message that’s likely to convince the target to respond to the sender’s request. The sender might request that the target respond directly to the email or click on a link that allows the sender to install malware or steal information.

How can spear phishing be prevented?

How can spear phishing be prevented?

To help avoid a spear phishing attack, here are a few best practices:

  • Limit the amount of personal information you share on public sites and social media.
  • Never automatically click on links in emails. To find out whether a link is legitimate, hover over it with your cursor and see if the URL matches the link’s anchor text and stated destination.
  • If you receive a suspicious email, contact the friend or colleague the message appears to be from—using a separate means of communication—and ask them if they sent the email.

You can also help prevent spear phishing by using an email security solution with spear phishing prevention capabilities.

How do you identify spear phishing?

How do you identify spear phishing?

Spear phishing emails are designed to be almost undetectable and have gotten more sophisticated over the years. However, there are still plenty of ways to identify a spear phishing email with the proper training. Once you learn the signs, you’re less likely to be a victim.

Not all spear phishing emails are the same, but here are some common characteristics:

  1. The email contains numerous grammatical or typographical errors.
  2. The sender uses jargon that’s too informal or uncharacteristic for the alleged sender’s industry.
  3. Embedded URLs or company graphics appear to be nonstandard.
  4. The sender demands or urges you to act quickly to avoid certain consequences.
  5. The email address is spoofed.

What is phishing?

What is phishing?

Phishing is a kind of social engineering attack in which a bad actor pretends to be a reputable entity and sends malicious emails to users. Phishing emails typically contain malicious links that will install malware on the user’s computer or direct the user to a fraudulent site. Hackers use phishing attacks because it is often easier to get someone to mistakenly click on a link than it is to break through their computer’s defenses.

Phishing is more general in scope than spear phishing. Phishing attacks aren’t designed to target any individual, and the emails are often sent to large numbers of users to increase the odds that someone will click on them. Spear phishing attacks, on the other hand, are carefully crafted to deceive a specific individual or organization.

Simplify and optimize spear phishing prevention with one powerful tool

  • Guard against targeted attacks with advanced email filtering
  • Help prevent social engineering attacks
  • Help your customers learn how to spot spear phishing emails