Secure Email Gateway Software

What is Secure Email Gateway Software?

Secure email gateway software prevents the transmission of malicious emails that violate company policy or contain malware social engineering attacks, spam or other unwanted emails designed to inflict damage. In this way, Secure Email Gateway software is like a firewall for your email. SEGs were originally intended for on-premise environments but have evolved to better secure cloud email environments as well.

Businesses use secure email gateway software to protect their system from attack, and to lessen opportunities for user error from social engineering attacks. There are many different ways of deploying email gateway software. Some software products are installed directly on the email server, while others are provided as a hardware appliance or virtual hardware appliance. Many secure email gateway products are available as public cloud services.

All Secure Email Gateways prevent attacks from reaching their intended recipients. Many SEG providers also offer data loss prevention capabilities. DLP features prevent leakage of sensitive information in outbound emails. Data loss prevention capabilities allow businesses to more effectively protect against internal threats, including both employees who have been compromised by social engineering attacks or who may themselves be bad actors. DLP is especially crucial when working with sensitive or proprietary information, or when required for regulatory compliance.

Secure Email Gateway Features & Capabilities

Important features include:

• Data loss protection
• Email management via real-time dashboards etc.
• Anti-malware
• Threat protection
• Ease of management
• Customizability
• Sandboxing to help identify risks
• End-to-end encryption

Secure Email Gateway Comparison

When comparing different secure email gateways, consider these factors:

1. Messaging Protection: All secure email gateway software protects businesses from malicious emails, but many secure email gateway options also integrate with messaging servers to protect from social engineering attacks there as well. Consider if your business needs messaging protection when purchasing secure email gateway software.
2. Archiving: Many secure email gateway software options include archiving features users can use to store important emails. When purchasing a secure email gateway software, consider the storage needs of your organization and select a software that can meet your storage needs.
3. Reporting Features: Some secure email gateway software includes analytics and reporting features on what sorts of emails users are sending and receiving. If you are looking for analytics features, be sure to choose a secure email gateway software that includes them.
4. Deployment Options: Is each secure email gateway product deployable as a cloud service, on-premise, or both? Businesses should ideally deploy their SEG where their email services and systems are, so ensure that the SEG can match the email systems being used.

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Pricing Information

Costs vary widely depending on the type of product selected. Public cloud services usually charge a per email fee or other usage fee. Appliance gateways typically charge a flat fee for the appliance plus a subscription fee covering the costs of intelligence information updates. Advanced features like email encryption usually incur additional fees.