Transcript
losses. And it's only getting more sophisticated as AI helps make these attacks more convincing and harder to detect. Let's break down what BEC is and what managed service providers and IT teams can do to prevent it. What is business email compromise? BEC is a type of social engineering attack that uses email to impersonate a trusted party, such as a CEO, CFO, or vendor. The intent is to trick an employee into taking action, such as transferring funds to a fraudulent account or providing confidential data, including W-2s or credentials. It works because BEC emails are highly targeted, carefully crafted, and often indistinguishable from regular business communication. How to Prevent Business Email Compromise Preventing BEC requires a people-first strategy supported by strong policies and layered security. Here are the six key strategies to prevent business email compromise. 1. Security Awareness Training Your users are your first line of defense and your biggest vulnerability. Make sure every employee, from interns to executives, knows how to spot BEC red flags. Unexpected urgency. Slight misspellings in domain names. Unusual requests for payments or data. Changes in payment methods or bank accounts. Use simulated phishing tests to train and reinforce good habits quarterly, at a minimum. 2. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication Many BEC attacks begin with a compromised email account within a business. MFA significantly reduces that risk by requiring a second verification step by an authenticator app prompt, such as Microsoft Authenticator or a hardware token, before anyone can log in. MFA should be mandatory across all accounts to avoid BEC and other threats, especially for executives, finance teams, and IT admins who have elevated access. 3. Lockdown Financial Workflows BEC scammers often target invoice or payroll processes where speed is valued and trust is assumed. Mitigate this by requiring dual approval for wire transfers or payment changes, creating standardized vendor verification protocols, implementing a hold-and-verify policy for high-dollar transactions, especially if the request comes via email. These slow down attackers without disrupting your business. 4. Deploy Advanced Email Security Traditional spam filters won't catch BEC emails. Instead, you need modern tools that use behavioral AI to detect unusual patterns in tone, timing, and sender relationships. Threat intelligence to block known impersonation domains. Real-time link and attachment scanning, even in internal emails. 5. Use DMARC, SPF, and DKIM Email authentication protocols help prevent domain spoofing, which can make an externally sent email appear to be internal communication by forging a domain name. Here's what each one does. SPF checks if the sender's IP is allowed to send on your behalf. DKIM ensures messages haven't been altered in transit. DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together and tells recipient servers what to do if authentication fails. Enforcing these protocols across your domains adds a crucial layer of trust and verification to your email communications. 6. Monitor and audit regularly. Even with the right tools and training, BEC threats evolve. Review logs for unusual login activity. Monitor for new forwarding rules, inbox changes, and common signs of account compromise. Run monthly audits on email configurations, MFA enforcement, and finance workflows. By continuously validating your security posture, you'll stay a step ahead of attackers. With the right mix of user education, strong verification policies, and AI-driven email security, you can stop BEC attacks before they ever reach your inbox. ConnectWise Email Security with Proofpoint helps IT providers detect, prevent, and respond to business email compromise with advanced protection that's built for today's evolving threat landscape. Visit our website at connectwise.com to learn more.
