Digital Defender

Enhancing Cloud Email, Collaboration, and Storage Security with ESET Cloud Office Security

By ESET / 2023-10-29 / Topics : Cybersecurity , Cloud Security , Collaboration Tools , Threat Detection , Malware Protection , Threat Prevention , Security Awareness

Protecting Your Digital Workspace in the Age of Remote Work

The widespread shift to remote work and the adoption of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools have revolutionized the way businesses operate globally. As we embrace the hybrid workplace model, it becomes increasingly clear that securing this new digital landscape is a multifaceted challenge. Protocols, business processes, and IT tools have a more significant impact on overall security, spanning home and business networks, and addressing the heightened risks from devices that transition between personal and business use.

The year 2021 bore witness to high-profile cyberattacks on business platforms like SolarWinds Orion and intrusion campaigns targeting IT services companies utilizing outdated versions of the Centreon IT monitoring tool. These incidents underscored the reality that cyberthreats are now targeting cloud-based systems, collaboration platforms, their users, and the IT administrators tasked with keeping everything running smoothly. These very tools have been instrumental in helping businesses achieve operational efficiencies during the pandemic.

While the significance of these threats is evident, few IT administrators and budget managers may have foreseen the magnitude of risks when entire service platforms become the focus of threat actors. In March 2021, the exploitation of Microsoft Exchange revealed a host of vulnerabilities, with ESET researchers identifying more than ten different threat actors or groups that likely leveraged the vulnerability. This event sent shockwaves through the IT industry, emphasizing the critical importance of robust security measures.

Are these high-profile threats diverting our attention from the dangers closer to home?

ESET's T2 2021 Threat Report demonstrates that employees working remotely and utilizing tools like Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access company data and IT support services are at an elevated risk. During T2 (May-August) 2021, ESET detected a staggering 55 billion new brute-force attacks against networks with public-facing RDP services, marking a 104% increase compared to T1 2021. This surge in attacks highlights the vital role of RDP in the modern home and hybrid workplace.

This underscores the importance of robust security practices when configuring and using collaboration tools, servers, and other business systems. Security responsibilities are twofold: the first lies with IT administrators, who establish rules and monitor activity, while the second rests with the organization's staff, who use the tools and need to maintain secure practices.

As cybercriminals continue to target organizations, phishing and fraudulent messages dominated the T2 2021 email threat landscape. The most heavily impersonated brands included Microsoft, DHL, DocuSign, and WeTransfer. Deploying security solutions can effectively detect and block these threats.

Enterprise-Grade Security for SMBs

Recognizing the growing security burden in the second half of 2021, ESET has enhanced ESET Cloud Office Security with ESET Dynamic Threat Defense (EDTD), a powerful enterprise-grade tool that directly addresses the challenge of unknown threats with its zero-day threat prevention technology. The threat landscape is dynamic, with new threats emerging daily. EDTD allows employees to maintain productivity without the hindrance of resource-intensive security processes. Once EDTD is in place, no further action is needed from admins or users. EDTD determines the nature of suspicious or unknown samples by subjecting them to cloud-based sandbox analysis, offloading the processing burden from individual machines to the cloud.

The cloud-based sandbox is where EDTD shines, efficiently detecting new or unknown threats by employing multiple machine learning models and robust detection techniques.

In the face of persistent threats like phishing and malicious email attachments, organizations must stay vigilant against the latest campaigns targeting corporate accounts. Relying solely on employees' security awareness may not be sufficient, so deploying a cloud sandbox solution like EDTD offers a robust layer of protection, even against previously unseen threats.

Enhanced Security with ESET Cloud Office Security

With EDTD integrated, ESET Cloud Office Security (ECOS) offers user-friendly administration and flexibility, supported by enterprise-grade protection.

Adapting to the changes brought about by the pandemic, ESET introduced ECOS, a solution that bolsters security for Microsoft 365, including OneDrive and Exchange Online. ECOS was designed to be easy to implement and manage for both SMBs and Enterprise customers. Since its launch, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have also included ECOS in their managed environments, simplifying security provision and reporting for cloud customers.

ECOS has evolved to safeguard the very solutions aimed at reducing operational costs, enhancing productivity, and ensuring business continuity. As the use of these tools becomes integral to business operations, security measures must be enhanced. ECOS now extends its protection to Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Online, providing an added layer of security for SMBs that operate in the cloud, reinforcing business continuity through distributed work and collaboration.

What ESET Cloud Office Security with EDTD Can Do for SMBs

While service providers and their clients share the responsibility of configuring and securing infrastructure like Teams, SharePoint Online, and Outlook, these tools impact all of their users. Large platforms, even within SMBs, are susceptible to security incidents, potentially leading to ransomware outbreaks and other malicious campaigns. If your organization relies on tools like Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online, you play a role in securing your environment. While not all threats come from large-scale events, mitigating their impacts requires addressing what can be controlled within your organization's environment. Given the widespread use of productivity tools, a product like ECOS offers immediate protection for the most popular tools.

Effective Protection Against Spam and Malware

For IT administrators managing protection for 25 seats or more, ECOS delivers an efficient, multitenant, and scalable service, safeguarding all major Microsoft 365 cloud services against malware, phishing, and spam emails.

ECOS scrutinizes all incoming emails delivered to a customer's Microsoft 365 inbox. The process begins with an award-winning antispam technology that filters out spam messages with near-100% accuracy. The next layer involves a malware scanner that detects malicious or suspicious attachments, while the third layer focuses on anti-phishing protection. All files uploaded to OneDrive, shared via SharePoint, or transferred via Teams undergo rigorous malware detection.

Admins benefit from ECOS's user-friendly cloud console, which provides an overview of quarantined items and promptly notifies them when a detection occurs.

ESET Cloud Office Security's First Year

In its inaugural year, ECOS offered IT admins valuable insights into threat types that managed to slip past Microsoft's native security measures. These threats included HTML/Fraud, HTML/Phishing.Agent, and DOC/Fraud, each encompassing various methods used by cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities.

While malicious documents and emails remain a primary vector for threats, it's essential to recognize that these threats have adapted to exploit new SharePoint-based features that gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ECOS for Hybrid Work

The evolving landscape of remote work, collaboration platforms, and the increased use of RDP demand a proactive approach to security. EDTD now offers immediate protection through cloud technology, safeguarding not only computers within the company's perimeter but also employees connecting from remote locations. By analyzing unknown samples, EDTD enhances the security of individual PCs and extends that protection to all endpoints within the company's network.

For companies seeking improved security in a time when IT departments are overwhelmed with responsibilities, the automation of security is a crucial requirement. ECOS + EDTD provides a seamless solution to meet this need.

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