Best 11 Phishing Protection Solutions For Business (2026)
We reviewed the leading phishing protection platforms on detection accuracy, response speed, and how well technical controls complement awareness training to reduce overall click-through risk.
Written by
Caitlin Harris
Technical Review by
Craig MacAlpine
Quick Summary
We’ve evaluated the best phishing protection solutions to help organizations defend against phishing, business email compromise, and credential theft across their email and collaboration platforms.
We live in a digital world and, as we become increasingly dependent on digital communication such as email, we become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks like phishing. Phishing is a type of cyber-crime based on email fraud. A bad actor disguises themselves as someone trustworthy in order to trick their victims into giving them sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, and financial information. Phishing emails can target hundreds or even thousands of people at once, and they’re one of the most common and financially dangerous online crimes that we see today.
In this guide, we’ll cover the top solutions designed to protect your organization against phishing attacks. These include secure email gateways, which filter dangerous emails before they reach the user’s inbox; post-delivery protection, which scans in- and out-going messages for potential threats; and security awareness training. One of the most useful forms of prevention is education, and being aware of phishing attacks will make you less likely to fall victim to them. We’ll give you some background information on the provider and the key features of each solution, as well as the type of customer that they are most suitable for.
Best Phishing Protection Solutions Shortlist
1. IRONSCALES — Best for combined AI and human-reported phishing intelligence
2. Bitdefender Extended Email Security — Best for MSPs needing multi-tenant phishing protection
3. Material Security — Best for inbox-level data protection after account compromise
4. Abnormal AI — Best for behavioral detection with minimal false positives
5. KnowBe4 Defend — Best for real-time user coaching to reduce phishing click rates
6. Fortra’s Cloud Email Protection — Best for customizable impersonation policy rules
7. Hornetsecurity Email Threat Protection — Best for layered detection with AI forensics and sandboxing
8. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 — Best for organizations invested in the Microsoft 365 stack
9. Mimecast Email Security — Best for phishing protection across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises setups
10. Proofpoint Core Email Protection — Best for large enterprises with complex infrastructure
11. Check Point Email Security — Best for protection extending beyond email into collaboration tools
IRONSCALES is an API-based email security platform that sits at the mailbox level inside Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. It’s designed to catch phishing, BEC, and impersonation attacks missed by traditional gateways, using a combination of AI and crowdsourced human intelligence from over 17,000 customer organizations. We were impressed by how IRONSCALES combines automated detection with real-time human reporting to create a feedback loop that strengthens protection across the entire customer base.
IRONSCALES Key Features
Employees can report a suspicious email with a single click, which is fed back into detection across the entire IRONSCALES customer base of over 17,000 organizations. A phishing email reported by one company improves detection for every other customer. Themis, IRONSCALES’ virtual SOC analyst, reviews reported emails and decides whether to quarantine across all affected mailboxes or release the email with a confidence score. This reduces phishing remediation time from hours to seconds. The Predictive Red Team module automatically generates realistic phishing scenarios tailored to your organization’s public digital footprint. AI-driven detection adapts in real time, catching threats that static rules and signature-based tools miss. Deepfake protection has been added as a new detection layer.
IRONSCALES uses AV engines and URL scanning to provide strong protection against malicious links and attachments. The platform also provides spam filtering and grey-mail protection, meaning it can be deployed as an organization’s primary email security layer rather than a supplementary tool. The built-in phishing simulation and awareness training tools remove the need for a separate platform; organizations can train users with realistic scenarios drawn from the same threat intelligence powering detection.
Our Take
We are impressed by IRONSCALES. The platform is constantly adding new features, like email spam filtering, encryption, and deepfake protection. The core of the product is the crowdsourced threat intelligence and AI, and every new feature strengthens the overall value of the platform as an organization’s primary line of email defense. The pricing is transparent and competitive, and the platform is easy to deploy and manage.
Strengths
- Crowdsourced intelligence remediates phishing campaigns across all customer environments within minutes
- Adaptive AI plus human reporting catches phishing that signature-based tools miss
- Predictive red team agent generates attack scenarios based on your organization's public footprint
- Themis virtual SOC reduces phishing remediation time from hours to seconds
- Built-in phishing simulations and awareness training remove the need for a separate platform
Cautions
- IRONSCALES has added new features across the management console, so admins will need time to find their way around
Bitdefender Extended Email Security, built on the Mesh Security platform which was acquired by Bitdefender in July 2025, is an email security platform built primarily for MSPs. The platform provides protection against phishing attacks, impersonation attempts, malware, spam, graymail and banned email senders. Bitdefender offers three different deployment options: MX-based gateway, API-only for Microsoft 365, and a combined gateway-plus-API mode.
Bitdefender Extended Email Security Key Features
Bitdefender’s Phish Protect feature provides a high-confidence phish score that scans for multiple indicators of a phishing email. It looks at factors like DMARC failure, impersonation patterns and suspicious email content for multi-layered detection of phishing messages.
Banners can also be placed on email messages to remind users to be aware of potential email risks. You can display banners on external senders, suspected impersonation attempts, and other risky messages. We think the banner customization here goes above competitive email security platforms.
Users can receive a quarantine digest report which rounds up any emails that have been stopped as suspicious. From here users can request emails are released, without having to contact the helpdesk.
Our Take
Bitdefender is a good choice for MSPs looking for strong protection against phishing, but also a more rounded platform for addressing email security risk. There are multiple layers of security with warning banners, and strong policy controls that can be applied across all of your customer environments. Detection is signal and rule-based rather than behavioral, which keeps false positives low. The commercials are strong for MSPs, with cost-effective single-SKU pricing at a competitive price point.
Strengths
- Phishing, impersonation, malware, and spam handled as separate verdicts with independent routing rules for each
- On-message banners are well-implemented and configurable
- Policy-driven release controls
- Cross-tenant search and remediation
Cautions
- No native email archiving; built-in encryption is on the roadmap but not yet available
Material Security is an automated detection and response platform for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 that goes beyond email filtering. We think the approach to protecting stored inbox data is what sets Material apart; rather than just catching threats at delivery, it protects sensitive content already sitting in mailboxes.
Material Security Key Features
The real differentiator is how Material handles post-compromise scenarios. If an account gets hijacked, the platform applies MFA at the inbox level, locking down sensitive messages and password reset emails so attackers can’t use them. Bulk email removal pulls threats from all mailboxes in seconds. Deployment takes about 30 minutes via API with no MX record changes required.
What Customers Say
Customers say Material treats Google Workspace as a true first-class environment, not an afterthought. Support consistently gets top marks, with teams praising fast response times and a willingness to work through complex deployment scenarios. Something to be aware of is that initial setup can feel overwhelming for less experienced teams, and the ticketing dashboard needs UX improvements.
Our Take
We think Material is well worth considering for teams that want more than phishing filtering. If you need inbox-level data protection and identity controls alongside detection, this covers ground most other platforms don’t.
Strengths
- Inbox-level MFA locks down sensitive data even after account compromise
- Deploys in about 30 minutes via API with no MX record changes
- Google Workspace treated as a first-class integration, not a bolt-on
- Bulk email removal pulls threats from all mailboxes in seconds
Cautions
- Users report that initial setup can feel overwhelming for less experienced teams
- Customers note the ticketing dashboard needs UX improvements
Abnormal AI
Abnormal AI is a cloud-native email security platform that uses behavioral AI to detect phishing, BEC, and supply chain fraud in Microsoft 365 environments. We think the behavioral approach is the standout here; rather than relying on signatures or rules, the platform learns normal communication patterns and flags deviations.
Abnormal AI Key Features
The platform analyzes thousands of signals to baseline normal communication patterns and flag anomalies. One-click deployment via API keeps rollout simple with no disruption to mail flow. Malicious messages are pulled automatically before users interact with them. Detection extends beyond email to calendar invites, collaboration tools, and identity signals.
What Customers Say
Customers say the accuracy stands out immediately, with teams reporting a significant drop in phishing triage time after switching from legacy gateways. The low false positive rate is a consistent theme. Something to be aware of is that reporting filters don’t persist between views, and role-based access controls lack granularity for larger teams.
Our Take
We think Abnormal AI is well worth considering if your priority is detection accuracy with minimal operational overhead. The behavioral AI catches attacks that signature-based tools miss entirely, and the low false positive rate means less wasted analyst time.
Strengths
- Behavioral AI baselines normal patterns with very few false positives
- One-click API deployment with no MX record changes or mail flow disruption
- Automated triage and remediation free up SOC analyst time significantly
- Pulls signals from identity, calendar, and collaboration tools for richer detection
Cautions
- Reviews mention that reporting filters do not persist between views
- Customers note that role-based access controls lack granularity for larger teams
KnowBe4 Defend
KnowBe4 Defend, formerly Egress Defend, is a phishing protection platform for Microsoft 365 that uses adaptive behavioral AI to stop threats traditional gateways and native controls miss. KnowBe4 completed its acquisition of Egress in late 2024, and Defend is now positioned as the detection and response layer within KnowBe4’s broader human risk management platform.
KnowBe4 Defend Key Features
The standout feature is the nudge-based warning system. Dynamic, color-coded banners flag suspicious messages in context, coaching users at the moment they need it. The platform evaluates links, language, sender reputation, attachments, and QR codes together. One-click remediation removes malicious emails across all affected mailboxes. Per-user risk scoring identifies the most vulnerable users for targeted training.
What Customers Say
Customers highlight strong support and easy initial setup. The Outlook integration works well, though some users note it can add a slight delay to sending and startup. Something to be aware of is that coaching banners need internal communication before rollout so users understand what they’re seeing. The platform is M365 only.
Our Take
We think KnowBe4 Defend is well worth considering if your biggest concern is user-driven phishing risk. The real-time coaching approach reduces click rates while building security awareness, which sets it apart from tools that only filter threats silently.
Strengths
- Color-coded warning banners coach users in real time, reducing phishing click rates
- Analyzes links, language, sender, attachments, and QR codes together
- One-click remediation removes malicious emails across all mailboxes
- Per-user risk scoring identifies your most vulnerable users
Cautions
- Users report that coaching banners need internal communication before rollout
- M365 only; no support for other email platforms
Fortra's Cloud Email Protection
Fortra’s Cloud Email Protection uses predictive AI to detect phishing, BEC, and impersonation attacks across Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Google Workspace. Formerly known as Agari Phishing Defense, it now sits within Fortra’s broader cybersecurity portfolio. We found the policy customization and impersonation rules to be the strongest aspects.
Fortra’s Cloud Email Protection Key Features
You can build targeted rules to catch domain spoofing and display name impersonation with specific actions per policy. Active Directory sync flags messages where the display name matches an employee but the sender is external. Analyst-backed threat hunting adds human intelligence to automated detection. The platform supports M365, Exchange, and Google Workspace for multi-platform deployment.
What Customers Say
Customers say message analytics are informative without being overwhelming, and the platform catches threats primary gateways miss. The ability to remediate harmful emails directly from user mailboxes gets positive marks. Something to be aware of is that policy exception workflows need improvement, and feature development pace has slowed in recent releases.
Our Take
We think Fortra’s Cloud Email Protection is a good option to consider if you need flexible deployment across M365, Exchange, and Google Workspace. The policy customization suits teams that want granular control over impersonation detection rules.
Strengths
- Customizable policy engine with granular control over impersonation rules
- Supports M365, Exchange, and Google Workspace for multi-platform deployment
- Active Directory sync flags display name impersonation from external sources
- Analyst-backed threat hunting adds human intelligence to automated detection
Cautions
- Reviews mention that policy exception workflows need improvement
- Customers note that feature development pace has slowed in recent releases
Hornetsecurity Email Threat Protection
Hornetsecurity Email Threat Protection is a layered email security platform combining AI-driven fraud forensics, malware sandboxing, and secure link rewriting to stop phishing, ransomware, and BEC before they reach the inbox. We found the fraud forensics engine to be the distinguishing capability, analyzing intent and behavioral patterns rather than relying on signatures alone.
Hornetsecurity Email Threat Protection Key Features
The fraud forensics engine analyzes identity spoofing, malicious intent, falsified facts, and espionage patterns rather than relying on signatures alone. Suspicious attachments run through a built-in sandbox that detonates files and decrypts weaponized documents. URL rewriting replaces links in real time before users click. Now backed by Proofpoint following the December 2025 acquisition.
What Customers Say
Customers say centralized control saves significant admin time, and the AI analysis is practical for quickly assessing email risk without manually reviewing each message. Something to be aware of is that the Fraud Forensics module can over-block with limited rule customization, and initial setup requires more groundwork than expected.
Our Take
We think Hornetsecurity is a good option to consider if you want layered detection with sandboxing and AI forensics in one package. The Proofpoint acquisition adds enterprise credibility and should extend the platform’s reach.
Strengths
- AI fraud forensics analyzes spoofing, intent, and espionage patterns beyond signatures
- Built-in sandbox detonates suspicious attachments and decrypts weaponized documents
- URL rewriting replaces links in real time before users click
- Now backed by Proofpoint following December 2025 acquisition
Cautions
- Reviews flag that the Fraud Forensics module over-blocks with limited rule customization
- Customers note that initial setup requires more groundwork than expected
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (formerly Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection) is the native email and collaboration security layer built directly into the M365 stack. We think the deep ecosystem integration is the structural advantage here. Protection extends beyond email to SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams, with capabilities bundled into E5 licensing.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Key Features
Safe Links rewrites URLs at click time, Safe Attachments detonates suspicious files in a sandbox, and Automated Investigation and Response reduces manual triage by correlating alerts and taking action automatically. Protection now covers Teams messages, with known malicious URLs flagged with warnings both at delivery and retroactively up to 48 hours later. AI-powered submissions response uses generative AI to explain email verdicts to administrators. Built-in protection policies apply Safe Links and Safe Attachments to all users by default. Starting mid-2026, enhanced email protection features from Defender Plan 1 are being extended to select E3/E5 plans.
What Customers Say
Customers say the dashboards make daily incident management efficient, and threat analysis reports help teams understand what’s hitting their environment. Something to be aware of is that policy configuration complexity can overwhelm newer administrators, and support response times are reported as slow for urgent security issues.
Our Take
We think Defender makes sense as a baseline for organizations already invested in the Microsoft stack. The native integration is hard to beat, and you avoid adding another vendor. If you need granular policy control or support for non-Microsoft environments, consider whether a supplementary or dedicated platform is needed.
Strengths
- Native M365 integration covers Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams automatically
- Automated Investigation and Response reduces manual analyst workload
- Included with E5 licensing, simplifying vendor and cost conversations
- Real-time Safe Links and Safe Attachments scanning catches threats pre-delivery
Cautions
- Users report that policy configuration complexity overwhelms newer administrators
- Customers note that support response times are slow for urgent security issues
Mimecast Email Security
Mimecast is a market leader in cloud-based email management, with over 42,000 customers around the world. Their phishing protection technology is a part of their overarching email security, archiving, and continuity solution, delivered as a layered platform combining AI, sandboxing, and URL protection to stop phishing, ransomware, and BEC. We think the deployment flexibility is the draw here; Mimecast supports cloud gateway, API-based cloud integrated, on-premises, and hybrid setups.
Mimecast Email Security Key Features
The Targeted Threat Protection suite is where Mimecast earns its reputation. Impersonation Protection accurately flags BEC and CEO fraud attempts. URL rewriting scans links in real time across live and archived emails, which extends to URLs in archived messages to prevent delayed attacks. Suspicious attachments are sandboxed before being sent on to the end user, so that malicious files never reach your system. Mimecast scans all inbound emails in real time, looking for key indicators in the header, domain information, and email content which could indicate malicious emails. The platform now connects with 350+ security vendors following the March 2026 update. Mimecast also offers email encryption, DMARC compliance, DNS filtering, and phishing awareness training.
What Customers Say
Customers say protection is consistent and low-noise, with strong phishing and impersonation blocking out of the box. Policy customization runs deep, giving teams granular control. Something to be aware of is that the admin interface can feel clunky with deeply nested settings, and URL rewriting occasionally breaks legitimate links.
Our Take
We think Mimecast is well worth considering if you need phishing protection that works across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises setups. The policy depth suits teams that want fine-grained control, and the easy-to-read reports and analytics, combined with a high level of flexibility and customization, make it a strong solution for mid-sized and enterprise organizations.
Strengths
- Supports M365, Google Workspace, on-premises, and hybrid deployments
- URL rewriting scans links across live and archived emails for delayed attacks
- Impersonation Protection accurately catches BEC and CEO fraud
- Now connects with 350+ security vendors following March 2026 update
Cautions
- Reviews mention the admin interface is clunky with deeply nested settings
- Users report URL rewriting occasionally breaks legitimate links
Proofpoint Core Email Protection
Proofpoint is a global market leader in email security solutions, securing more than 50% of the Fortune 100, the top 5 banks worldwide, and 7 of the top 10 global retailers. Proofpoint Core Email Protection is their enterprise-grade email security platform built for large organizations defending against phishing, BEC, malware, and advanced payload-less threats. We think the policy granularity and deployment options are what make this a fit for complex enterprise environments.
Proofpoint Core Email Protection Key Features
NexusAI detects payload-less BEC by analyzing behavior, language, and headers, going beyond traditional signature-based approaches. Multilayered detection stacks IP reputation, machine learning, and dynamic classification to filter spam, phishing, and bulk mail. Color-coded warning tags on suspicious messages coach users in real time. The URL Defense and Attachment Defense services detect, catch, and sandbox malicious URLs and attachments. Customizable policies at user, group, and global level support complex environments. Smart Search traces any email in seconds for fast incident investigation. The platform supports cloud, on-premises, virtual appliance, and hybrid deployments.
What Customers Say
Customers highlight strong detection accuracy and behavioral analytics that catch anomalies traditional tools miss. Teams using the DLP modules praise visibility into user behavior. Something to be aware of is that initial policy setup requires significant tuning, and the full platform value requires multi-module adoption, which increases cost and overhead.
Our Take
We think Proofpoint Core Email Protection is well worth considering if your organization operates at scale with complex infrastructure and compliance requirements. The cost-effective way in which Proofpoint wraps their features into one manageable package makes it a strong option for organizations across all sectors. If you’re a smaller organization, Proofpoint also offers their 365 Total Protection bundle (formerly Proofpoint Essentials) tailored to SMB needs.
Strengths
- NexusAI detects payload-less BEC by analyzing behavior, language, and headers
- Customizable policies at user, group, and global level for complex environments
- Smart Search traces any email in seconds for fast incident investigation
- Supports cloud, on-premises, virtual appliance, and hybrid deployments
Cautions
- Reviews mention that initial policy setup requires significant tuning
- Full platform value requires multi-module adoption, increasing cost and overhead
Check Point Email Security
Check Point Email Security, formerly known as Harmony Email & Collaboration, is a cloud-based platform that protects inboxes and collaboration apps across Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. The platform extends protection beyond email to Teams, OneDrive, and Google Drive. We found the collaboration-app coverage to be the distinguishing factor.
Check Point Email Security Key Features
Machine learning analyzes communication patterns to detect impersonation and fraudulent messages, catching phishing, malware, and suspicious links before they reach inboxes. Deployment takes minutes via API with no MX record changes. Flow-level visibility tracks file and message movement across collaboration tools, supporting audit requirements. The platform runs quietly in the background with minimal impact on daily workflows.
What Customers Say
Customers say the platform works quietly in the background without adding friction to daily workflows. The M365 and Gmail integration gets consistent praise for being low-maintenance once deployed. Something to be aware of is that filtering can be overly strict, quarantining legitimate emails at times, and policy customization lacks granularity across user groups.
Our Take
We think Check Point Email Security is well worth considering if you need protection extending beyond email into collaboration tools. If your organization runs M365 or Google Workspace with heavy file sharing in Teams, OneDrive, or Google Drive, the collaboration coverage adds value that email-only tools miss.
Strengths
- Protects email, Teams, OneDrive, and Google Drive from a single deployment
- API-based setup deploys in minutes with no MX record changes
- Flow-level visibility into file and message movement supports audit requirements
- Runs quietly in the background with minimal impact on daily workflows
Cautions
- Users report filtering is overly strict, quarantining legitimate emails at times
- Customers note policy customization lacks granularity across user groups
Other Email Security Services
A cloud-native email security platform that stops phishing attacks before they reach the inbox.
A platform that simulates phishing attacks to train employees to recognize and report them.
Provides advanced threat protection against phishing, malware, and other email attacks.
How We Compared The Best Phishing Protection Solutions
We assessed each platform across detection accuracy, deployment model, policy customization, user experience, and coverage scope. Detection accuracy included how effectively each platform catches phishing, BEC, impersonation, and credential theft attempts, including threats that bypass traditional signature-based gateways.
For deployment, we evaluated whether each platform operates as a secure email gateway, an API-based integration, or both, and how that affects rollout time and mail flow disruption. We assessed how quickly each platform can be deployed and whether it requires MX record changes or other infrastructure modifications.
We reviewed verified customer reviews to understand real-world detection performance, false positive rates, and where each platform creates operational friction. Customer feedback informed our assessment of admin interface usability, support quality, and scaling behavior.
Vendor briefings and product documentation were used to validate feature claims, verify current platform capabilities, and understand recent product changes including acquisitions and rebrandings. We cross-referenced customer feedback with vendor documentation to identify gaps between marketed capabilities and actual user experience.
Expert Insights’ editorial and commercial teams operate independently. No vendor can pay to influence the testing, review, or ranking of their products. Our recommendations are based on hands-on evaluation, verified customer feedback, and independent research.
What To Look For In Phishing Protection Solutions
Choosing the right phishing protection platform depends on your email environment, threat profile, and operational priorities. Here are the key factors to evaluate.
Detection Approach. The biggest differentiator across platforms is how they identify threats. Signature-based detection catches known attacks but misses novel phishing and BEC. Behavioral AI platforms like Abnormal AI baseline normal communication patterns and flag deviations, which catches attacks that rules-based tools miss entirely. IRONSCALES combines AI with crowdsourced human reporting for a hybrid approach that improves detection across its entire customer base.
Deployment Model. Some platforms require MX record changes and reroute mail through a gateway, while others use API-based integration that deploys in minutes with no mail flow changes. Material Security, Abnormal AI, and Check Point all deploy via API. Mimecast and Proofpoint support both gateway and API deployment, giving organizations flexibility. Consider which model fits your infrastructure and how quickly you need protection live.
Coverage Scope. Email-only protection leaves gaps. Check Point extends protection to Teams, OneDrive, and Google Drive. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 covers SharePoint and Teams natively. If your organization relies heavily on collaboration tools alongside email, ensure the platform covers those surfaces.
User Training. Some platforms stop threats silently, while others actively train users at the moment of risk. KnowBe4 Defend’s color-coded warning banners coach users in real time, and IRONSCALES’ built-in phishing simulations remove the need for a separate awareness training platform. Consider whether you want passive protection, active user education, or both.
Policy Customization. Enterprise environments often need granular control over detection rules, quarantine behavior, and exception handling. Fortra’s Cloud Email Protection and Proofpoint Core Email Protection both offer deep policy engines that let teams build targeted rules. Simpler platforms trade that granularity for faster setup and lower maintenance.
The Bottom Line
Start with your email environment and the types of attacks you’re most concerned about. If you’re primarily defending against phishing and BEC in Microsoft 365, platforms like IRONSCALES, Abnormal AI, and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 integrate directly without disrupting mail flow. For multi-platform or hybrid environments, Mimecast and Proofpoint offer the deployment flexibility to cover complex setups. Test shortlisted platforms against your actual threat landscape before committing.
FAQs
Everything You Need To Know About Phishing Protection Solutions (FAQs)
Phishing is a type of cybercrime based on fraud. In a phishing attack, a cybercriminal contacts their target—usually via email—and tries to manipulate them into doing something that will put their data at risk. A user may be encouraged to share their credentials and financial information, or installing malware that will enable the attacker to access their machine.
Traditionally, phishing attacks were used to target hundreds or even thousands of people at once. Today, these attacks are becoming increasingly targeted; instead of sending a generic email to lots of users, the attacker will research their target before messaging them, then pretend to be someone the target knows in order to gain their trust. Because of this, the attacks are much more convincing and difficult to spot – the target is more likely to share sensitive information. These targeted phishing attacks are known as “spear phishing”.
Aside from traditional phishing and targeted spear phishing attacks, there are a few more types of phishing attack that you should make your users aware of:
- Whaling is a type of spear phishing that targets high-ranking members of an organization, such as C-suite executives, who are likely to have privileged access to critical corporate systems or valuable data
- Vishing, short for “voice phishing”, is a phishing attack delivered via phone call, rather than email. These attacks often create a high sense of urgency because the attacker is communicating with the user in real-time and can use this to add pressure
- SMiShing, or “SMS phishing” is delivered via text message. These attacks often claim to be from a trusted organization, such as a bank or an email post-delivery company, rather than a specific individual
- Phishing websites look like normal web pages—usually login or payment pages—but they scrape user data and send it directly to an attacker. Often, users open phishing pages from the links sent in phishing emails, but sometimes they can stumble upon them when browsing if the attacker has managed to hide the malicious page within a legitimate website
These solutions have a series of capabilities and features to identify malicious websites and compromised credentials, this reduces zero day phishing attacks. By identifying compromised login credentials that have been stolen in credential theft attacks, organizations can ensure that security measures are sufficient by changing passwords. By flagging malicious urls, users can ensure that they do not submit their details to fraudulent websites.
Good phishing prevention solutions should contain the following key features:
Email scanning – of incoming emails as well as outgoing emails to identify any sensitive details being shared, or any requests to do so. Suspicious messages should be either blocked or flagged to make users aware of the risks.
Report Phishing Button – this allows users to flag emails that may have been delivered, but show suspicious signs. Some services also offer a service to block phishing sites, further strengthening the attempts to mitigate phishing attacks.
Database access – some phishing attempts will be sent to a large number of inboxes. If a solution has access to a database of identified risks it can be easier to identify commonly used phishing templates. With the advent of artificial intelligence, many phishing communications are becoming more specific. Ensuring that your data is shared with the database can help to protect other users too.
Brand protection – some solutions will scan databases to identify if your brand is being used to trick users. While this is most common for large, trusted organizations, as attacks become more specific, smaller organizations could be targeted too.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), phishing is the most prevalent threat type in the US. Unfortunately, phishing attacks are not only prevalent but also highly successful; recent research from Verizon found that 82% of data breaches last year involved a human element, such as phishing or the use of stolen credentials. A further report from IBM discovered that one fifth of companies that suffer a malicious data breach are compromised due to lost or stolen credentials, while 17% are compromised via a direct phishing attack.
Traditionally, email protection came in the form of a secure email gateway (SEG). SEGs create a defensive perimeter around your organization’s email client, preventing the delivery of threats such as spam, graymail, and mail sent from senders on a deny list. However, they aren’t very effective at blocking highly specific and targeted phishing attacks.
Integrated Cloud Email Security (ICES) solutions sit within the user’s inbox, scanning all inbound and outbound (and sometimes also internal) messages for anomalous or malicious activity. ICES solutions use machine learning to detect threats; this enables them to pick up on indicators of compromise that are likely to go unnoticed by a SEG, such as unusual communication patterns, typos and grammatical errors, and unusual attachment types. When an ICES tool does find an indicator of malicious activity, it either deletes the email from the user’s inbox, quarantines it, or delivers the email but inserts a warning banner at the top to alert the user to its potential malice.
Some ICES providers (including many on this list) also offer a plug-in as part of a phishing simulation program that enables users to report phishing threats from directly within their inbox.
Many organizations choose to implement a SEG alongside an integrated cloud email security solution to ensure maximum protection against multiple types of email threat. The SEG acts like the wall around your castle, deflecting known threats; the cloud email security solution acts like the guards patrolling your castle grounds, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Security Awareness Training (SAT) is a human-centric form of phishing prevention. Usually, an SAT course is made up of two parts: content-based learning, and phishing simulations.
Phishing simulations are fake phishing emails that test a user’s ability to identify and report phishing threats. The strongest phishing simulators include a “report phishing” button that plugs into each user’s inbox, enabling them to report simulations (and, in some cases, real phishing threats) directly to their IT team as they come across them.
If a user fails a phishing simulation, they’re informed of where they went wrong, and IT and security teams can assign them more training as required.
Implementing a robust email security solution that combines ML-driven threat detection with phishing simulations is one of the best forms of defense against sophisticated spear phishing attacks. However, there is no single silver bullet solution to phishing. To ensure your best chances of staying secure, we recommend that you take a multi-layered approach to defense by implementing the further following tools.
Using a variety of tools in a complementary approach will result in a well-rounded, comprehensive cybersecurity infrastructure, which will also help protect you from other web, identity, and endpoint threats.
Security Awareness Training (SAT)
Security awareness training solutions train users on how to identify and correctly respond to a range of cyberthreats, including phishing attacks. Most SAT solutions combine a mixture of content-based, bite-sized training modules to teach users what different types of attack may look like, with phishing simulations that enable security teams to test how users are likely to respond to a real-life phishing attack. If a user clicks on a link in a phishing simulation, admins are notified and can assign that user further training. SAT is a great way of training users to be more vigilant in their work and personal lives, whilst instilling a culture of security within the organization.
Many organizations make the mistake of assigning security awareness training annually. While this might be enough to tick off a compliance checklist, it’s unlikely to actually improve your security. For best results, we recommend delivering regular, bite-sized training.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication requires users to verify their identities in two or more ways before being granted access to an account, application, or system. By implementing MFA, you can stop an attacker from accessing a user’s account, even if they’ve managed to get their hands on that user’s password via a phishing attack.
Different MFA solutions support different methods of authentication—some of which are less “phishable” than others. The strongest methods of authentication to prevent phishing attacks are biometric authentication (such as fingerprint scanners, facial recognition, and behavior recognition) and hardware authentication (using smart cards or USB sticks).
Endpoint Security/Antivirus
Some phishing attacks are used as a means of infecting an organization with malware, such as ransomware or an infostealer. The attacker simply sends the malware as an attachment and tries to manipulate their victim into downloading it. Implementing strong endpoint security or antivirus software can help mitigate the impact of a successful phishing attack by preventing the spread of malware across your organization, even if a user clicks on a malicious attachment.
Web Security
Phishing attacks are usually delivered via email, but there are millions of phishing webpages online that trick users into thinking that they’re entering their credentials or payment information into a legitimate website, when really the information they enter is being harvested by a cybercriminal.
A strong web security solution can help prevent your users from entering their details into phishing pages. There are several tools that can be used to achieve this.
- DNS filters do this by blocking phishing domains
- URL filters block individual phishing pages that are being hosted on non-malicious domains
- Remote browser isolation solutions can prevent users from inputting data into suspicious or malicious pages by restricting them to “view only” access
Strong Password Practices
Enforcing strong password practices won’t necessarily prevent phishing attacks, because phishing involves the threat actor stealing a password directly from your users, rather than cracking it using brute force. However, it can help minimize the damage that an attacker is able to do if they do gain access to a user’s account.
We recommend that you ensure that passwords are regularly updated across your organization, either through the use of password policy enforcement software or a business password manager. This means that, even if a password is compromised, the attacker will only be able to use it for a limited amount of time.
Written By
Caitlin Harris is the Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. As an experienced content writer and editor, Caitlin helps cybersecurity leaders to cut through the noise in the cybersecurity space with expert analysis and insightful recommendations.
Prior to Expert Insights, Caitlin worked at QA Ltd, where she produced award-winning technical training materials, and she has also produced journalistic content over the course of her career.
Caitlin has 8 years of experience in the cybersecurity and technology space, helping technical teams, CISOs, and security professionals find clarity on complex, mission critical topics like security awareness training, backup and recovery, and endpoint protection.
Caitlin also hosts the Expert Insights Podcast and co-writes the weekly newsletter, Decrypted.
Technical Review
Craig MacAlpine is CEO and Founder of Expert Insights. Before founding Expert Insights in August 2018, Craig spent 10 years as CEO of EPA Cloud, an email security provider that rebranded as VIPRE Email Security following its acquisition by Ziff Davis, formerly J2Global (NASDAQ: ZD) in 2013.
Craig is a passionate security innovator with over 20 years of experience helping organizations to stay secure with cutting-edge information security and cybersecurity solutions.
Using his extensive experience in the email security industry, he founded Expert Insights with the singular goal of helping IT professionals and CISOs to cut through the noise and find the right cybersecurity solutions they need to protect their organizations.