Email remains the most widely used business communication tool. It is also the most common vector for cyber threats.
IT teams focus a lot of attention on making email easy to access and use while preventing the most common email-borne attacks. Because human error is involved in up to 95 percent of security breaches, much of the attention is focused on preventing spam, phishing and other malicious emails from reaching users’ inboxes. However, these tools are becoming less and less effective.
Malicious actors continue to refine their techniques and find new ways to slip past email filters. AI is making phishing emails virtually impossible for humans to detect, even with up-to-date security awareness training.
Organizations need a new strategy for securing their vital email communications. Zero trust email provides a robust security framework.
The Principles of Zero Trust
Zero trust email is based on the zero trust model, which emerged in 2009. While traditional security focuses on blocking potential threats, zero trust turns that on its head. Its three core principles are: “never trust, always verify,” strictly limit access and assume that threats already exist within the network.
In the email context, those principles dictate that no email sender or message is trusted by default. Instead, every email, user and device is continuously verified before delivery or access is granted. The focus is on identifying trusted entities and blocking the rest, thereby reducing the attack surface and minimizing the risk of damage from phishing and malicious content.
The zero trust framework also allows for simpler and more consistent security policy creation and enforcement across different environments. Granular policies are applied based on multiple factors, including user identity, device type, location and the sensitivity of the data.
Putting Zero Trust Email in Action
Sender authentication is a core component of zero trust email. It utilizes the DMARC email authentication protocol, which helps identify spoofed email messages and notifies email servers to delete those messages upon receipt, keeping them out of inboxes and preventing their propagation. Email is authenticated against the organization’s defined policies, rejecting anything that doesn’t comply.
However, zero trust email goes beyond DMARC to authenticate senders using IP addresses, geolocation, historical patterns and behavioral analysis. It also checks the health of the device accessing the email to ensure it meets security standards.
Continuous monitoring of all email traffic and access attempts identifies suspicious activities, triggering alerts for immediate investigation and response. AI and machine learning monitor email threads for communication patterns, including tone, urgency and context, to detect deviations from normal behavior. Instead of applying a simple “safe” or “bad” score, access permissions are granted or denied based on email content and context.
Benefits of Zero Trust Email
Verifying every request significantly reduces the attack surface, limiting the potential for malicious actors to succeed. Zero trust email is particularly effective against phishing and social engineering attacks, as it doesn’t rely on user whitelisting or traditional security alone. By filtering out non-actionable as well as malicious emails, zero trust email can help reduce inbox clutter, improving user productivity.
Real-time monitoring and alerts allow security teams to detect and respond to threats more quickly. Zero trust also ensures sensitive data is protected from unauthorized access by implementing least-privilege access and verifying every interaction with the data.
Zero trust email is ideal for modern workforces, providing secure access to resources from any location by verifying users and devices consistently. The “always verify” approach extends to internal communications, helping to mitigate risks from malicious insiders. Strict access controls and continuous monitoring also help organizations comply with data privacy regulations.
How Verteks Can Help
The Verteks team has helped organizations of all sizes apply zero trust principles to email security. Let’s discuss how we can help you reduce the risk of phishing, ransomware and other threats while ensuring seamless email access for all of your users.
