Cyber attacks are going way up. Where should companies be focusing their energy and resources to enhance cyber security?

Attacks have increased by 58%. Email is where you need to be protected. More cyber criminals are going after company's users to get what they need because users are vulnerable, especially now working from home. Right now is harvest time for cyber criminals and we need to be alert. The key word here is awareness.

If you’re on a budget, what should companies be doing to protect their email?

Open your toolbox and implement what you already have. Many clients are already paying for tools like threat protection and email encryption (which is especially great for financial and healthcare institutions).  And personally, my favorite multi-factor authentication (MFA). These are very powerful tools and can add an extra layer of security. Advanced Threat Protection allows for better protection against scamming and phishing.  MFA you can turn this on for all users and every time you login, it will prompt you to give you a code to your cell phone via text or an app. Without that authentication, the user can't log in. With email encryption, it allows you to protect sensitive data (think HIPAA for healthcare).

If you have an unlimited budget, what would be the gold standard of email protection?

User awareness is the best thing. Let's bring the user awareness back in house by investing in training our employees. Cyber criminals are investing their time and efforts to find vulnerabilities, and we should do the same to protect ourselves.

How can users spot malicious emails?

Never, never, ever respond to an email that prompts for a password. Look for grammatical errors. Some of these things are obvious but look carefully at the emails. Just yesterday I got an email from the CEO of a company, who rarely emails me, so things like that might be a red flag. Another tip is to not read or go through your emails if you're in a hurry. Your vulnerability goes up when this happens. I had a client who was in a big hurry to order gifts around the holidays for her employees. Because she was rushing she clicked on what appeared to be an amazing deal from Walmart, only to find out later that it was a phishing attempt -- that cost $15,000.

Learn more about preventing and protecting against phishing attacks.

Watch the interview with Feli:

• User awareness and training is key in preventing attacks
• The devil is in the details; pay attention when you are responding to email
• Listen to your gut, if something feels off, it probably is.

Learn more about staying protected by reading our Password Protection 101 article.