Many people don’t realize that scams are complicated events orchestrated by scammers, which often include myriad persuasive techniques and take advantage of our individual characteristics and circumstances. While each scam varies in complexity, they typically progress through three broad stages, each influenced by factors that either heighten or diminish our vulnerability to becoming victims.

This blog looks at the intersection of psychology and email attacks to help guard your business against elaborate deception and adopt actionable strategies to defend your people and assets from manipulative schemes. After reading it, you’ll be better prepared to thwart scams and bolster your organization’s resilience against email-based threats.

With cyber attacks increasing in frequency and damage, it’s more important than ever for organizations to understand that an incident of any scale is more of a “when” than an “if.” That means that, as part of a comprehensive security strategy, organizations should not only focus on keeping threats out but also ensure that if a threat turns into an incident, they’re prepared to swiftly respond and recover.

Modern organizations have sprawling attacks surfaces of known and unknown assets that grow each day. This means understanding and managing your external attack surface is more crucial than ever. But with the vast number of digital assets that organizations need to monitor, accurately identifying every component of your attack surface can seem overwhelming – which is why many turn to External Attack Surface Management (EASM).

Perimeter solutions such as Secure Email Gateways (SEGs) have long been a cornerstone of email security, historically serving as the primary line of defense against malicious emails entering an organization. Utilizing legacy technology such as signature and reputation-based detection, SEGs have provided pre-delivery intervention by quarantining malicious attacks before they reach the end recipient. Why, then, are 91% of cybersecurity leaders frustrated with their SEGs, and 87% considering a replacement?

You no longer need to pull off a bank heist to pocket millions of dollars. Taking advantage of an email breach is easier for attackers and allows them to use your infrastructure’s weaknesses to demand ransom, steal personal information, or perform other fraudulent activities.