Email Account Compromise

What is Email Account Compromise (EAC)?

Email Account Compromise (EAC) is an email security threat where attackers gain unauthorized access to a victim's email account. Exploiting weak password policies or bypassing security measures, attackers manipulate email accounts to steal sensitive data, make unauthorized transactions, or impersonate legitimate users to execute financial fraud.

How Email Account Compromise (EAC) Occurs?

Attackers use multiple methods to infiltrate email accounts, targeting businesses in industries like banking, e-commerce, and travel:

1. Phishing
   • Credential Theft: Tricking users into providing email login credentials through deceptive emails or websites.
2. Malware
   • Keyloggers and Trojans: Using malware to capture email login details credentials during user input, enabling attackers to bypass account security fraud measures.
3. Data Breaches
   • Compromised Accounts: Using stolen credentials from data breaches to access email accounts.
4. Social Engineering
   • Manipulative Tactics: Fraudsters exploit human trust to extract their email login information through various forms of social engineering. 
5. Brute Force Attacks
   • Password Guessing: Using automated tools to guess weak or reused email passwords using techniques like dictionary attacks.

What are the Impacts of Email Account Compromise (EAC) on Businesses?

1. Financial losses
   • Fraudulent Activities: Financial losses from fraudulent activities conducted using compromised email accounts.
2. Data Breaches
   • Compromised Information: Loss of sensitive company data and confidential information, including client emails, contracts, and personal information.
3. Reputation damage
   • Trust Issues: Erosion of customer trust due to security breaches.
4. Operational disruption
   • Business Interruption: Disruptions in operations while addressing security breaches and reinforcing email security infrastructure.
5. Legal and Regulatory
   • ConsequenceCompliance Issues: Potential fines and legal repercussions for failing to adhere to regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) that protect email accounts adequately.

How to Detect and Prevent Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Detecting BEC

• Phishing Detection: Deploy tools to detect email phishing scams and anomalies in user behavior. These tools help verify the authenticity of emails, reducing exposure to BEC fraud attempts.
• Unauthorized Access Monitoring: Track suspicious login attempts or irregular IP locations. 
• Email fraud detection: Use AI tools to spot unusual email activity, such as unauthorized forwarding or mass deletions.
• Identity Verification: Use biometric authentication like device fingerprint for higher security.

Learn more about fraud prevention solutions using Global Risk Persona.

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Preventing BEC

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Add layers of security using time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) or biometric verification.
• Email Threat Monitoring: Utilize email verification tools to detect and block malicious emails in real time. 
• Secure Email Protocols: Enforce Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption for secure email communication. Apply anti-spoofing protocols like Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance).

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AI Tools for Preventing Email Fraud

• Behavioral Analytics: Track user behavior to detect anomalies, such as unusual logins or unauthorized actions.
• Machine Learning Models: Continuously learn and adapt to new fraud tactics by analyzing historical and real-time data.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Use AI-powered email verification software to identify and block phishing attempts and email-based fraud instantly.

Learn more about AI-powered fraud detection tools for comprehensive email protection.