Protecting your business email from phishing attacks is essential to avoid costly disruptions and data breaches. Phishing involves cybercriminals sending deceptive emails that appear legitimate, aiming to trick staff into revealing sensitive information, clicking malicious links, or downloading harmful attachments. For UK SMEs, this risk can lead to financial loss, reputational damage, and potential breaches of UK GDPR or the Data Protection Act 2018.
Why this matters for UK SMEs
Phishing attacks often target small and medium-sized businesses because they may have fewer security resources than larger organisations. A successful phishing attack can result in downtime if systems are compromised, loss of customer trust if personal data is exposed, and regulatory scrutiny if you fail to meet compliance standards like Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001. Additionally, staff productivity can suffer as employees deal with suspicious emails or recover from incidents.
A typical scenario
Consider a UK SME with around 50 employees. One day, a finance team member receives an email that looks like it's from a regular supplier, requesting urgent payment details. Without proper email filtering and staff awareness training, the employee might respond, handing over bank details to fraudsters. An experienced IT partner would prevent this by implementing email authentication protocols, setting up anti-phishing filters, and running regular staff training to spot suspicious emails. They would also have incident response plans and backups to minimise damage if an attack occurs.
Practical steps to secure your email
- Ask your IT provider: Do they implement email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify sender identities?
- Check for multi-factor authentication (MFA): Ensure all email accounts require MFA to reduce the risk of credential theft.
- Review spam and phishing filters: Confirm that your email system has advanced filtering and regularly updated threat intelligence.
- Staff training: Schedule ongoing phishing awareness sessions and simulated phishing tests to keep employees vigilant.
- Access control: Verify that email accounts have appropriate permissions and that former employees' access is promptly revoked.
- Incident response: Confirm your IT partner has clear procedures for identifying, containing, and recovering from phishing incidents.
- Backup strategy: Ensure regular, secure backups of email data are performed and tested for restoration.
- Vendor due diligence: When selecting IT providers, ask for evidence of compliance with UK security standards such as Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001.
Next steps
Securing your business email against phishing is a continuous process that combines technology, staff awareness, and good IT management. Discuss your current email security posture with a trusted managed IT provider or IT consultant who understands the specific risks faced by UK SMEs. They can help you implement practical controls tailored to your business size and sector, helping protect your data, maintain compliance, and safeguard your reputation.