Adding Email Security to MSP Tech Stack

A recent Datto report backs this up showing almost all MSPs now provide managed security services. Email spam filtering solutions are an essential part of the MSP security service portfolio as email remains a key target for hackers intent on credential theft and malware infection. These email filtering solutions deliver a fundamental tool to block email-borne and web-based attacks focused on the #1 target, the human operator.

What are Spam Filtering Solutions?

Put simply, spam filtering protects email by separating illegitimate email messages from legitimate ones, preventing spam and phishing emails from entering employees' inboxes. An MSP that provides managed email filtering solutions gives a client the tools to:

Improve Employee Productivity

Employees spend almost one-third of their workday reading and answering emails. The result is a loss of productivity as they open and read those emails that then turn out to be spam. The process is repeated day after day; with employees worried that they may miss an important email in the noise of spam. This email overload does not have to happen. An email spam filtering solution will stop the spam at the source, only allowing recognized legitimate emails through to an employee's inbox.

Protect a Company Against Phishing Campaigns

Phishing costs businesses in more ways than one. A single click on a phishing email link can lead to stolen login credentials that then result in ransomware and other malware infection, Business Email Compromise (BEC), as well as breached data and other cyber-attacks. A research report from Agari shows that once credentials are stolen, two-thirds of email accounts are compromised within a day and almost all are compromised within a week of credential theft. Emails are the prime cause of login credential theft with 20% of employees clicking on phishing email links and almost 68% of those entering login credentials into a spoof website.

These two aspects of an email filtering solution provide a powerful reason to add email protection to an MSP portfolio.

Email Filtering Solution

Email Filtering Solution Features that give an MSP a Market Advantage

An MSP can best provide managed email protection to clients through a cloud email spam filtering solution. Because these email filters are cloud-based, they are perfectly adapted to MSP remote delivery and management. However, certain features are important to look for in an email filter to make sure it is the best fit for the needs of both an MSP and its clients:

Centralized Management of Email Protection

An MSP must control the management of the email filter solution from a central console, designed for a single pane of view and ease of control. Updates must be automatically pushed out to client endpoints, easily. MSPs can offer this managed service to clients who have little or no IT support or security skills in-house. The ability to capture statistics and generate reports is also a useful feature to provide feedback and offer clients intelligence.

Easy to Deploy Spam Filter to Client Endpoints

The operation of the email filter must be entirely cloud-based and be a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. There should be no physical or virtual appliances to install or configure. The spam filter should be OS agnostic and work on Windows and Mac environments.

SpamTitan is an advanced and highly effective spam filter service, with a market leading 99.99% Spam Catch Rate with a 0.003% false positive.

Low Maintenance Email Filter

An MSP wants the best for its client whilst managing the overload in its own company. A spam filter should be designed to make the life of the MSP easy and come with a close, collaborative, relationship with the email filter vendor.

A multitude of email protection features to fit the client needs

Email protection must have granular control and be able to be tailored to the client's needs. This is achievable with an email filtering solution that uses a multi-layer approach to block spam and phishing emails. Email filters such as SpamTitan use multiple mechanisms to catch spam, whilst ensuring that legitimate emails are allowed through to an employee's inbox. This balance is met using a mix of:

Content or word filters: that check an email for specific words that signal a spam email.

List filters: use black or whitelist filters to stop or allow emails.

Header filters: email spam filters that look at the header of an email to check for signals of spam.

Bayesian filters: uses dynamic rules that include employee input to identify email spam.

Heuristic filter: may use machine learning algorithms to identify spam based on a scoring system.

Benefits of Offering an Email Spam Solution to Clients

To sell an email filtering solution to a client, an MSP must be able to demonstrate why an email spam filter is the right solution to protect email. Here are three reasons why using a managed email filtering solution is a great option:

1. Clients don’t need in-house skilled staff to manage threats: with cybersecurity talent hard to come by, centralized security management and email protection is a must have. Using a managed spam filter, clients will get the best email protection without the need to configure and maintain the solution in-house.
2. Central management is by design using a cloud email filtering solution: a dedicated email filtering solution that is managed centrally by an MSP, on behalf of a client, gives that client the best available tool to block spam.
3. Protect email and prevent threats: cloud email filters protect a business against a wide range of cyber-attacks including spam, malware, ransomware, spear-phishing, Business Email Compromise/Vendor Email Compromise (BEC/VEC), social engineering, spoofing, and other email-borne threats.

The need to protect an organization against email-borne threats continues to reach criticality, with around 94% of malware being delivered by email. A solution to block spam email that can be fully managed, takes the burden of email protection away from an organization. An MSP that delivers robust and effective email protection

SpamTitan Plus – NEW Anti-Phishing solution now available