Secure business email against BEC attacks

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a form of cybercrime in which attackers use email to defraud organizations out of money or goods. Criminals impersonate company representatives by using business names, domains, and logos, or by taking over legitimate email accounts to pose as colleagues. Here is what you need to know and the solutions available to protect your business email against this type of attack.

Common scams associated with business email compromise include:

Invoice fraud: Criminals gain access to a company's email account and retrieve real invoices. They then alter the contact details and banking information before sending the modified invoice to customers from the compromised account. Customers make payment believing they are paying the legitimate supplier, when in fact the funds are transferred directly into the attacker's bank account.

Employee impersonation: Attackers compromise a work email account and use it to impersonate an employee. This identity is then exploited in various ways. A common tactic is to impersonate a senior executive such as a CEO or CFO and issue a fraudulent invoice. Another approach is to request a change to an employee's banking details, after which salary payments or invoice proceeds are redirected to the attacker's account.

Company impersonation: Criminals register domain names that closely resemble those of large, well-known, and trusted companies. They then contact suppliers and request quotes for high-value goods such as laptops, negotiating to receive the merchandise before payment. Once the goods are delivered to a specified location, the invoice is forwarded to the legitimate company, which never placed or received the order.

How to prevent your email account from being compromised

1. Stay alert to phishing attempts

Phishing is a technique in which attackers impersonate individuals or organizations that you know or trust. Cybercriminals steal login credentials through phishing tactics and then use those credentials to distribute malicious content to your contacts. Securing your business email requires both smart investment in cybersecurity solutions and a consistently high level of vigilance.

Phishing is not limited to email. These scams are also carried out via SMS, instant messaging, and social media platforms. Attackers frequently impersonate trusted organizations such as:

State police or law enforcement agencies
Utility providers such as telecommunications companies, postal services, and electricity and gas suppliers
Banks and other financial institutions
Government agencies, such as the Tax Office or other public services

Reputable organizations will never call, text, or email you to verify or update your personal information. This applies equally to companies such as Amazon, PayPal, Google, Apple, and Facebook.

When you receive a suspicious message from any company or organization, here are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself:

Check the spelling of the sender's domain name by comparing it against previous correspondence
Use the spam and message scanning features provided by your email, SMS, or social media service provider to filter out harmful content
Develop a critical mindset and remain cautious when receiving calls, messages, and emails
Exercise caution before opening messages, attachments, or clicking on links from unverified sources
Never provide personal information such as usernames, PINs, passwords, or security question answers to unverified sources

Some organizations maintain dedicated security pages to help identify scams that impersonate their brand. If you receive a suspicious message, contact the individual or organization directly through verified contact details, such as a phone number obtained from their official website, to confirm whether they actually sent it.

2. Use multi-factor authentication and strong passphrases

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) so that employees are required to verify their credentials when accessing systems and business email. MFA is one of the most effective security controls available for preventing unauthorized access to computers, applications, and online services. Requiring multiple forms of authentication makes it significantly harder for attackers to break into your systems. While a criminal may be able to steal one type of credential, obtaining a valid combination of multiple credentials is far more difficult.

Multi-factor authentication can combine the following:

Something the user knows: a passphrase, PIN, or answer to a security question
Something the user has: such as a smart card, hardware token, or security key
Something the user is: such as a fingerprint or retinal scan

Additionally, encourage employees to use biometric authentication or strong passphrases to lock their devices, particularly mobile devices.

3. Design security-conscious business processes

Organizations should establish clear and consistent business processes that allow employees to verify and authenticate payment requests and sensitive information. Protect the contact details of staff, particularly those in departments most likely to be targeted by attackers, such as accounting, finance, and human resources.

Ensure that employees are trained to recognize the following warning signs:

Unexpected changes to banking information
Payment requests conveying urgency or threatening serious consequences for non-payment
Unusual payment requests from a person of authority who does not normally make such requests
Email addresses that appear incorrect, such as a domain name that does not exactly match the supplier's name

Companies should guide employees to verify account details and think carefully before acting on unusual requests. At the same time, organizations need clear procedures for reporting threats and responding to attacks immediately.

4. Protecting your organization's reputation from impersonation fraud

Develop and enforce internal network security controls. Attackers can gain access to any email account by compromising your organization's systems. Consider registering domain names that visually resemble your own, for example by substituting characters like 'l' and 'o' with digits like '1' and '0'. This prevents criminals from using lookalike domains to impersonate your organization.

You can also monitor for fraudulent domains by tracking certificate transparency logs. If you manage your own domain and mail servers, deploy email authentication mechanisms. SPF and DMARC are protocols designed to detect email spoofing by specifying which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. These measures help reduce the risk of impersonation and strengthen business email security.

Recovering from a BEC attack

If you have fallen victim to a business email compromise, take the following steps as quickly as possible:

If you have transferred money or shared banking details with the attacker, contact your bank immediately
If any of your email accounts have been compromised, change the passwords for all your other email accounts
Notify affected parties and protect stakeholders by publishing a warning on your website about the fraudulent activity

Securing business email with SECU E Cloud

BEC attacks are carried out with a high level of sophistication. Without maintaining constant vigilance, recipients can easily fail to distinguish a fraudulent email from a legitimate one. Even more concerning, attackers can infiltrate an organization's systems and use genuine corporate email accounts to conduct fraud.

BEC attacks cause not only direct financial losses for customers and partners but also serious damage to an organization's reputation. Businesses with weak security postures risk losing the trust of clients and partners alike. Protecting your business email therefore requires a dedicated, professional email security system.

SECU E Cloud was developed to safeguard organizational information. The system is built to heighten user awareness; every incoming email is assessed for trustworthiness before it reaches the recipient's inbox. SECU E Cloud is a convenient and professional email security solution featuring three layers of protection built on AI and Machine Learning technology.

SpamGUARD: Keeps inboxes clean by filtering spam and junk email. Beyond filtering based on international blocklists such as Spamhaus and SpamCop, SpamGUARD scores incoming messages against criteria including DKIM, SPF, and IP reputation. A standout capability is URL-based blocking, which addresses the increasingly common practice of embedding malicious URLs directly in email content or concealing them within images.
ReceiveGUARD: The most robust layer of protection in SECU E Cloud, powered by AI and ML. Unlike conventional mail applications, VNETWORK's solution uses a Virtual Zone to secure business email. The Virtual Zone filters malware and detects spoofed domains and malicious links before they reach users. The system also supports blacklist and whitelist management, making it easy to block unwanted IP addresses or permit correspondence with email addresses that have non-standard configurations. Daily reports are sent to administrators and the list of blocked addresses is continuously updated, enabling more effective analysis and response to ongoing attacks.
SendGUARD: A defining characteristic of BEC attacks is the use of legitimate corporate email to carry out fraud. For this reason, outbound email protection is equally critical to a comprehensive email security strategy. With administrator-level access, the system can disable the send function when a device is compromised by a virus, preventing potential harm to partners and protecting the organization's reputation. A content approval feature allows users to control outbound emails based on subject line, message body, or attachment filename.