All Press ReleasesSE LABS Ⓡ, the cyber security testing authority, announced today that following a thorough evaluation of its capabilities in defending against current threats targeting enterprises and small businesses through email, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense was awarded an AAA rating.
The test used targeted attack methods similar to those used by real-life attackers. These included focussed phishing, custom malware, business email compromise (BEC) attacks and other types of social engineering. BEC targets the human element of email communication. Attackers craft convincing, fraudulent emails that appear to come from legitimate sources, tricking recipients into transferring money, sharing sensitive information or performing other actions that compromise the organisation.
“Good security testing is realistic, using the kinds of threats customers see in real life. This is why we put a lot of focus on Business Email Compromise (BEC) scenarios, rather than more conventional threat types such as generic phishing and malware,” says Simon Edwards, founder and CEO of SE Labs.
The attacks used in this test used well-established techniques and public attacks that were found to be live on the internet at the time of the test. They varied from extremely basic phishing emails to highly sophisticated targeted attacks, inspired by threat groups such as APT29, Saint Bear and Windshift.
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense scored excellent protection as well as detection ratings and was particularly effective against email that carry malware. It also protected against phishing and other types of social engineering email and was awarded an AAA award for Advanced Security Email Protection.
The full report Advanced Security Test Report: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense can be read for free on SE Labs’ website. For more information on the testing of email security services please read the blog post: Why Testing Email Security Is More Complicated Than You Think.
