A look inside targeted email attacks

The most sophisticated attacks today are designed by initiating shooting email to the victim and through the continuous process ending at stealing the confidential data. The emerging innovation in security can detect advanced attacks by reducing the risk of data breaches.

Invasion of Attack

The target organization is chosen and the mail is sent to the victim including malicious link and attachments. Generally the email security with anti-malware and anti-phishing features cleverly blocks the mail and moved to spam. But the content is made to look so attractive that the user tends to open it.

Communicating the Attack

The victim opens the attachment or browses the click which will enable the installation of the code. The communication is established and the web traffic is built up. Here the web filtering plays a critical part in blocking the traffic provided that its database already possess the new site information.

Attempt to access

The surpassed website will then start to gain the access to the system. The Intrusion Detection and Prevention system deployed in an organization will help to block the unauthorized access. If the system fails, the malicious code gains the system access and performs hidden activities.

Malicious Deployment

The system which failed to prevent the access will lead to installation of executable code into the system. The situation further gets worse when the malicious code leverages the system to bypass its fraudulent network activities.

Data Theft

The code constantly runs in the background and attempts to steal the confidential user data. The attacker completely gains the access to victims system and delivers it out of the organization. If this process goes unnoticed by the network security, the organization is considered to be breached.

Hence the organizations today need an advanced email security functions to combat the complete attack life cycle. Analysts at Mordor Intelligence estimate a $1.41 billion Cloud Email Security software market by 2020.

While email threats continue to grow and evolve, organizations are demanding more from their IT teams more protection, more efficiency and more flexibility. To meet these demands, IT teams need more flexibility to architect solutions that address these business imperatives. There are three broad categories of email security on the basis of deployment and flexibility.

-First, there are customers that want to improve operational efficiency by outsourcing the problem of spam through the use of cloud or software-as-a-service solution.

• The second includes customers that want to maintain maximum control of sensitive outbound information through the deployment of on-premises email security infrastructure.
• The third category encompasses customers that want to use a hybrid which includes use of cloud solutions for efficiency while still maintaining the benefits of an on-premises appliance-based deployment.

The Cloud-based security is an optimal solution for midsize enterprises with SMBs more and more moving to cloud environment to save upon the initial investments and longer setup time. As with all outsourcing activities, cloud-based security has an inherent risk because organizations using this delivery model have to rely on and trust a third-party provider to maintain the level of service stipulated in the contract. Many variables could affect the level of service, such as interruptions due to technical issues or financial bankruptcy. So, a serious failure of one or more well-known, cloud-based security providers could damage organizations' confidence in cloud-based security as a whole. As a result, they may revert to on-premises equipment, affecting growth in the cloud-based market.

The Global Cloud Email Security market is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7% during the forecasted period 2014-2019. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the cloud Email security market across different industry verticals and regions. The Cloud Email security market is segmented across the Geographical regions namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of World. The North American Market continue to dominate the market with 44% of the market share and further the US market plays a vital role in generating revenues by contributing more than 60% to the total revenue generated by the North American region.

The vertical segment includes various industries such as Telecom and Information Technology, Banking and Financial Services, Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Local/Central Government, Travel and Transport, Retail, Entertainment and Media and Other Industries.

Cloud Email security market is competitive and diversified market with key major players such as Cisco, McAfee, Trend Micro, Panda Security, Websense, Mimecast, Barracuda Networks, Proofpoint, Appriver, Google, Symantec, Microsoft, Fortinet, Webroot, Watchguard, Sophos, Dell, Silversky, Clearswift and Trustwave.

SaiKiran Kadam is an Analyst working with Mordor Intelligence, a market research consulting firm which specializes in Market Research Consulting, Market Research Reports, Market Sizing Reports, Industry Research Reports.