Mariska Scriba, Head of Enterprise Security Services at MTN Business.

It’s almost a CISO mantra that the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain is people, who keep email communication the most common entry point for cyberattacks. Businesses cannot afford to overlook email security and proactive measures – rather than reactive responses – which are the key to staying ahead of evolving email threats.

“Employee training around email risks throughout the supply chain should be a priority,” says Mariska Scriba: Head of Enterprise Security Services, MTN Business South Africa. “Continuous training helps employees recognise phishing and other email-based threats. Extending this training to the supply chain ensures that partners and vendors are also aware of email risks, reducing the overall threat landscape.

“MTN emphasises regular, comprehensive email security training as part of its cybersecurity services for businesses and we have found interactive training sessions, such as phishing simulations, highly effective in helping employees identify and avoid threats.

“Regular updates and bite-sized learning modules help reinforce best practices over time and user-tailored training based on each user’s unique risk areas should address weakest areas first. Gamification can be used to make email security training more engaging and memorable. MTN’s training programmes integrate some of these methods to build a culture of email security awareness.”

Scriba says the latest email protection challenges include increased sophistication of phishing and spearphishing attacks, especially those using AI to mimic real human communication; the use of AI-driven tools to generate more convincing and personalised phishing attacks is growing.

“Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, where attackers pose as senior executives to trick employees, add to the challenge of protecting remote workers and their devices.

“New technologies like AI-driven threat detection, sandboxing, and machine learning are proving highly effective in identifying and mitigating email-based threats, and real-time scanning and behaviour-based analytics are key to detecting phishing, malware, and ransomware. MTN’s email security services integrate these technologies to ensure businesses have the most advanced protection in place.

“Businesses should invest in threat detection solutions that use AI and machine learning to identify phishing attempts, even those generated by AI, simultaneously implementing multilayered security, including firewalls, email filtering, and incident response plans, to help mitigate risks.”

Scriba advises that companies should implement protocols like Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) to verify email authenticity.

“Encryption of email communications ensures that sensitive data remains protected during transmission, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for email access adds an additional layer of security. These protocols aid in compliance with governance and privacy standards.”

Scriba says all email platforms can be vulnerable if not properly secured, as threats often arise from misconfigurations, weak passwords, or the lack of MFA; however, security depends more on the protections in place and user awareness, than the platform itself.

“MTN’s comprehensive email security services are designed to protect businesses of all sizes, using advanced technologies and user awareness training. Our email security solutions are designed to protect any email platform by addressing these vulnerabilities through threat detection, encryption, robust email filtering, sandboxing to isolate potential threats, continuous threat intelligence updates, AI-powered scanning and real-time monitoring to identify and block malicious email activity, ensuring a secure communication environment regardless of the chosen platform.

“As email remains one of the primary attack vectors, we see the demand for cybersecurity professionals specialising in email protection continuing to grow,” she concludes.

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