Email risk scoring identifies and mitigates vulnerabilities to strengthen defenses against cyberattacks. It’s the first step to minimizing the impact of phishing, social engineering, malware, and other threats to sensitive data and critical systems.

Email remains a top email risk scoring for security teams vector because of its prevalence and ease of use. Attackers use phishing tactics to trick recipients into sharing their credentials, divulging financial information, or downloading malware that can compromise systems and create data breaches. Email mishandling also exposes sensitive information through attachments and malicious links, as well as unintentional disclosure of data via collaboration platforms like file sharing tools and instant messaging.

Email Risk Scoring for Security Teams: Evaluate Threat Levels in Real Time

Security teams must address both technical and human risks to safeguard email communication, data, and operations. To do so, they must use advanced threat protection that integrates into existing email platforms and workflows while addressing the gaps attackers exploit. This approach is embodied by email security threat assessment solutions that offer advanced, adaptive security policies and analytics for all communication channels within a unified governance framework.

Mitigating human risk is the key to preventing email attacks. Disconnected security systems can create scenarios where users appear low-risk in email monitoring but are engaging in high-risk behavior on collaboration platforms, leading to compromised accounts and unauthorized access. To address these challenges, organizations must adopt solutions that monitor communication channels in a unified way and reveal human risk patterns.

Behavioral analytics tools that leverage AI and machine learning monitor login behaviors, message flows, and communications anomalies to identify risky behavior. These systems prioritize the highest-risk employees for targeted interventions, such as phishing simulations and password training. Personalized interventions reduce incident rates by up to 80% and improve security awareness. Frictionless reporting mechanisms that integrate with existing tools bolster employee participation, enabling more accurate, timely incident response.