Phishing is more widespread than ever, and in the past 18 months alone we’ve seen attacks become even more sophisticated. There’s never been a greater need for an intelligent, non-disruptive email security solution that detects multi-vector exploits and thwarts zero-day attacks.
That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new product: Egress Defend. It’s an exciting time for Egress customers as the addition of Defend will add powerful anti-phishing capabilities to our Intelligent Email Security platform.
Our recent acquisition of Aquilai means we’re able to build on existing capabilities to offer a comprehensive end-to-end solution that covers both inbound and outbound threats. We’ve never been better placed to solve every organization’s most complex cybersecurity challenge – insider risk.
Aquilai: A best-in-class acquisition
Aquilai’s technology is unique. It was hand-selected for its technological excellence and vision by GCHQ (the UK government’s intelligence and security agency) to be a part of its Accelerator program. The technology has been shaped and influenced by cyber experts and academics from world-leading academic and research centres.
The Aquilai technology stack uses machine learning and natural language processing technology that stops all targeted email attacks, including business email compromise (BEC), spear phishing and impersonation attempts. This builds on Egress’ existing capabilities to cover the full spectrum of inbound and outbound email threats.
Aquilai’s CTO Jack Chapman will also join Egress as VP of Threat Intelligence. He had this to say about the acquisition: “With the rise in ‘crime-as-a-service,’ phishing is such an important problem to solve right now. I think it’s extremely exciting what we’ll be able to offer with the combined tech stack of Egress and Aquilai – and just how frustrated we can make the bad guys.”
A human layer security approach
Egress and Aquilai technology dovetails seamlessly, as both companies follow a human layer security approach. Defend exists to augment and enable our customers’ employees – never to monitor and police them. It’s about turning people into a security asset by understanding how and why they need protection.
Phishing preys on human error within your organization. Even though the threat originates externally, it requires an accidental action from an insider for that attack to succeed. Cybercriminals are relying on tired or rushing employees to make the mistakes they might not when at the top of their game.
Inbound phishing attack tactics change every day, and cybersecurity training alone is simply not enough to keep employees safe. Defend steps in to even up the odds – it gives employees real-time feedback on suspicious email content, arming them with the advice they need to do the right thing and avoid falling for an attack.
How Defend works
Defend doesn’t simply react to the latest threat. Our approach is to emulate how a cyber expert would view the situation. It’s about using contextual information to protect users from both current and future phishing attacks – whatever form they may take. There are only so many ways you can tell people to click a link, so building up the context around these potential scenarios is key.
There’ll be no more need for the rigid and productivity-hampering rules found in traditional solutions on the market. A threat intelligence approach detects the underlying deception and context, rather than simply chasing the latest trend. It uses machine learning to look at suspicious and also benign incidents (including the content and context of emails) to build up the bigger picture.
Defend works in a similar way to Egress Prevent, silently analyzing in the background and offering intelligent prompts via a traffic-light system when threats are detected. Users can work via email with confidence, knowing that they’re comprehensively protected on both the inbound and outbound front.
An end-to-end response to insider threat
The powerful combination of Egress and Aquilai means we can offer customers a truly comprehensive solution covering both inbound and outbound protection. Businesses with be protected against all inbound cyberattacks targeting employees, as well as remaining secure from outbound risks such as inadvertent data loss.
Defend will not only prevent the data breaches that come from phishing attacks – but also the subsequent financial loss and reputational damage that come as a result. To achieve this, we’ve incorporated the following key capabilities from Aquilai’s anti-phishing technology:
- Machine learning and natural language to detect all phishing attacks. Egress Defend detects and mitigates all zero-day phishing attacks, including advanced threats such as BEC and brand forgery, CEO fraud and impersonation attempts, and spear phishing.
- Content and context analysis for inbound email traffic. It detects BEC and social engineering attacks, including those utilizing open-source intelligence (OSINT), to provide enhanced security versus relationship-based solutions.
- Streamlined user engagement for enhanced cybersecurity awareness among employees. The solution includes traffic light warnings and insight summaries to provide active learning to educate users about the threats they face.
- Seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook. This will enable organizations to effectively defend against email data loss and the increasing number of attacks targeting the 365 platform.
Whether it’s Egress Defend, Prevent, Protect, or Respond, the key to stopping insider threat is to turn the human layer into a security asset. That’s why Egress Intelligent Email Security dynamically engages with employees to inform, assist, and prevent security breaches.
For the first time, you can implement an end-to-end intelligent email security platform unlike anything else on the market. Learn more about how Egress Defend works here. Or if you’re interested in seeing it for yourself firsthand, simply get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo.