Outbound Email Filters & Data Loss Prevention – This is how Spambrella protects your business reputation

Content Analysis

Most of today’s media focus of email security is based on inbound email threats; phishing, ransomware attacks, and of course spoofing. Email administrators often overlook the significance of outbound email misuse and the trouble it can cause an organization. Spambrella outbound filtering content analysis is designed to protect your business and safeguard its reputation.

Spambrella integrates with GoogleWorkspace and Microsoft365 as well as any on-premise mail server to add vital outbound data loss prevention and reputation analysis.

Customizing Content Filters

Spambrella outbound filters allow admins to apply content filtering based on outbound mail subject line, message headers, message body, and attachment file type. The rules for Spambrella filters are equal in this sense to the inbound email filter rules. Note that, in addition to quarantine, filter actions for outbound mail include encrypt and notify an internal referee. Notifying an admin or group will provide extra governance steps to releasing email which could be sensitive in nature.

You can learn more about outbound DLP content rules on the Spambrella knowledge base.

Outbound SPAM monitoring

Spambrella actively monitors outbound email for mass sending to protect your domains and reputation. If a message is not delivered it will be recorded in the Email Logs and can be released to the intended recipient. Bulk senders are permitted and should be reported to Spambrella support in order to allow this outbound mail-flow rate.

Email DLP – Smart Identifier Scan

A smart identifier is a pre-defined regular expression used to locate specific content in an email such as a Credit Card number of Drivers License Number. There are 6 categories of smart identifiers:

Attachment Content Filtering

All outbound messages, including those from whitelisted senders, go through attachment filtering. You can quarantine, encrypt or notify admins of outbound messages that contain attachments which include text/file type matching the patterns/filters you enter within Spambrella. A notification can be set to send to the sender when an outbound message is blocked due to attachment content filtering.

Personal Information Smart Identifier Scan:

Email Encryption

Spambrella has an Advanced service package that includes full email encryption (AES256). Recipients will receive a notification email that authenticates their access to the email from your organization. The recipient can respond securely within the interface.

Note: Spambrella runs TLS which can also be set to ‘always enforce tls’ within the outbound filters.

DLP and HIPAA Compliance

You can also take actions with outbound messages that contain matches to pre-made patterns in the subject line, message body, or attachment. With information types such as:

• Credit card patterns,
• Social Security Numbers (the USA only)
• Passport numbers
• Healthcare Terms
• Financial Term
• Much more

How Spambrella outbound email filtering protects your business.

Outbound email filters, also known as outbound email filtering or outbound content filtering, are security measures implemented by organizations to monitor and control the emails sent from their internal network to external recipients. These filters analyze the content, attachments, and metadata of outgoing emails to prevent the transmission of malicious or unauthorized content and to enforce email security policies. Here’s how outbound email filters work and their key features:

Content Inspection: Spambrella outbound email filters scan the content of outgoing emails for potentially harmful or sensitive information. This includes keywords, phrases, attachments, and embedded links that may indicate malicious intent, data breaches, or policy violations.

Attachment Analysis: Spambrella outbound email filters analyze email attachments to detect and block malicious files, such as malware, ransomware, or phishing payloads. They may use file type recognition, signature-based detection, and heuristic analysis to identify suspicious attachments.

URL and Link Scanning: Outbound email filters inspect URLs and hyperlinks included in outgoing emails to verify their legitimacy and assess the risk of phishing or malware distribution. They may check URLs against blacklists, reputation databases, and threat intelligence feeds to identify malicious links.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Outbound email filters integrate with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems to prevent the unauthorized transmission of sensitive or confidential information outside the organization. They enforce DLP policies by identifying and blocking emails containing sensitive data such as financial information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), or intellectual property.

Compliance Enforcement: Outbound email filters help organizations comply with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and internal policies governing email communication. They enforce compliance by scanning outgoing emails for violations related to data privacy, security, and industry-specific regulations.

Encryption and Data Protection: Some outbound email filters offer encryption capabilities to secure sensitive information transmitted via email. They encrypt outgoing emails containing confidential data to protect them from interception or unauthorized access during transmission.

Policy Enforcement: Outbound email filters enforce email security policies defined by the organization, including rules for acceptable use, content restrictions, and email forwarding controls. They block or quarantine emails that violate these policies and notify administrators for further action.

Reporting and Auditing: Outbound email filters provide reporting and auditing features to monitor email activity, track policy violations, and investigate security incidents. They generate logs, alerts, and detailed reports on outbound email traffic, enabling administrators to analyze trends, identify risks, and maintain visibility into email security posture.

Overall, outbound email filters play a crucial role in protecting organizations from outbound threats, data breaches, and compliance violations by ensuring the secure and compliant transmission of emails to external recipients.

More details on using Spambrella email security and email governance services can be found on the Regulatory Compliance pages.