HTG 360, a managed security services provider (MSSP), is leveraging Vade Secure for Office 365 to block malware, ransomware, phishing and other cybersecurity threats, the company has confirmed.
Vade Secure for Office 365 is an email filtering solution that leverages Microsoft's Graph application programming interface (API) for integration, the company said. It is hosted on Microsoft Azure and scans an entire email flow to protect Office 365 users against internal cyber threats.
In addition, the software uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models that perform real-time email behavioral analysis, the company indicated. It retrieves data from more than 500 million inboxes worldwide to feed its machine learning models and help organizations identify and address targeted attacks.
Office 365 Phishing Attacks On the Rise
HTG 360 has identified three times as many phishing attacks targeting Office 365 compared to Exchange on-premises environments, the company stated.
A range of Office 365 phishing attacks have surfaced in recent months. Examples include:
- PhishPoint: PhishPoint was a Microsoft SharePoint attack identified by Avanan, a cloud security platform provider. Approximately 10 percent of Avanan's Office 365 customers were affected by the cyberattack.
- KnockKnock: KnockKnock was a phishing attack launched against Office 365 Exchange Online email accounts. Cybercriminals leveraged KnockKnock attacks to target administrative accounts used to integrate corporate email systems with marketing and sales automation software.
- Hexadecimal Escape Characters Phishing Attacks: Cybercriminals have used hexadecimal escape characters, a sophisticated type of character encoding, to bypass Office 365 security protocols. Hexadecimal escape characters enable cybercriminals to launch phishing attacks using HTML attachments with JavaScript snippets.
Office 365 deployments that rely on third-party tools to fill gaps in security and compliance will increase from 15 percent last year to 40 percent in 2018, technology research firm Gartner has predicted. Also, Gartner projects 50 percent of organizations using Office 365 will rely on non-Microsoft security tools to maintain consistent security policies across their multivendor "SaaSscape" by 2020.
MSSPs Can Provide Office 365 Security
HTG 360's addition of Vade Secure for Office 365 enables the company to help its customers keep pace with Office 365 cyberattacks. Meanwhile, MSSPs that look beyond Office 365's native security features could help their customers address Office 365 cyber threats both now and in the future.
MSSPs can provide Office 365 policies and training, filtering and encryption services and security software to help organizations "prevent infiltration at every angle," according to email and cybersecurity solutions provider AppRiver. Plus, MSSPs that offer Office 365 support could differentiate themselves from the competition and accelerate their revenue growth.
