How to Keep Your How to Keep Your Emails Secure In 2023 In 2023

It’s a terrible feeling when you learn that some private conversation or communication has been overheard and used against you by people who mean you harm. Thus, many of us have learned to be careful with what we say and around whom. Unfortunately, the situation is different with online comms, as internet users often lack knowledge of threats and dangers as they receive and share information. As a first step toward preventing emails from falling into the wrong hands, be sure to check out the recommendations below.

1. Apply encryption where possible

Encryption is a solution meant to prevent transmitted information from being comprehended by unintended people. Just as someone can listen in on a conversation, an ill-meaning actor can intercept an email. However, end-to-end encrypted email scrambles the text and content in a message in such a way that only the intended recipient can read and understand it. 

If your mail provider is not using encryption in 2023, it stands to reason that they lack a proper understanding of the current threat landscape, and you will be much better served with a provider that implements this feature by default.

2. Practice thoughtful access management

Some of the biggest hacks in history have come from a single account being compromised, followed by a cascade of sensitive data being stolen and exploited, sometimes with additional breaches of access. Needless to say, protecting your account access is important, and this applies both to the credentials you use to log in and how you sign in.

In terms of the password, it will ideally be complex (featuring sufficient length, special symbols, uppercase and lowercase letters, and digits). It is also a good practice to rotate passwords every few months and prevent previous passwords from being reused. As for sign-in methods, an additional level of verification (such as via SMS code or authenticator app) should work wonders in hindering attackers.

3. Filter dangerous content

Most mail services have some sort of spam filter built-in, but the efficiency of these filters varies greatly. The simple approach is to block based on a set of factors (e.g. address matching, subject, presence of links, etc.), but a more advanced filter will look at past mailbox history, user choices (deleting/prioritizing messages), and gather data from open sources before making a decision about a particular email. This, combined with a malware scan and basic knowledge of threats should form the core of your email classification decisions

4. Keep and prepare backups

While it’s unpleasant to think about worst-case scenarios (e.g. your mailbox being hacked or access revoked, emails being deleted or falling into the wrong hands), being prepared for them will help you in the long run. For example, you can configure your mailbox to forward sent and received messages to an additional address you have set up as a backup(with a different set of credentials). This will preserve all of your data even if it becomes inaccessible at the primary source. You could also use an integrated software solution to download and store mail.

When it comes to digital communications, there is never a 100% guarantee that something unfortunate won’t happen with your messages, but decreasing the probability of these events is certainly realistic. Hopefully, the tips provided set you on this path.

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