Summary
B2B email filters significantly impact personal email accounts accessed on corporate networks. Organizations employ various techniques, including SSL interception, DLP systems, email security gateways, content filtering, and port blocking, to monitor, restrict, or modify email content. These measures aim to prevent data leaks, malware infections, and policy violations. Actions can include scanning content, adding disclaimers, removing attachments, blocking access, quarantining emails, and providing email isolation. Gmail and Exchange Online Protection (EOP) both scan and modify email content. Companies implement these policies to protect against threats and data breaches, which may raise privacy concerns for employees.
Key findings
- Email Isolation: Provides advanced attack protection by isolating personal webmail.
- SSL Interception: Interception of SSL traffic allows companies to inspect email content.
- DLP Systems: DLP systems block messages or alert administrators upon detecting sensitive information.
- Email Security Gateways: Filter and modify email traffic to prevent malware and data breaches.
- Content Filtering: Inspect and control web traffic, blocking access to risky content.
- Port Blocking: Blocks standard email ports forcing use of webmail, enabling content filtering.
- Content Scanning: Email platforms scan for spam, phishing, and malware.
- Traffic Inspection: Filters inspect traffic of personal email accounts when accessed at work.
- Text Modification: Business email filters can modify the text of messages.
Key considerations
- Employee Privacy: Monitoring personal email raises privacy concerns.
- Policy Transparency: Organizations should be transparent about personal email usage policies.
- Security vs. Usability: Balance security measures with ease of use.
- Filter Accuracy: Ensure filters are accurate to avoid false positives.
- ByPass Mitigation: Implement up-to-date security measures to prevent users bypassing controls.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
B2B email filters and security policies significantly impact personal email accounts accessed on corporate networks. Several methods are used to monitor, restrict, or modify email content to prevent data leaks, malware infections, and policy violations. These include SSL interception, data leakage prevention (DLP) systems, email security gateways, content filtering, and outright blocking of email ports. Monitoring can involve inspecting content, adding disclaimers, removing attachments, or blocking access to specific sites. Companies implement policies to protect against threats and data breaches but this can impact employee privacy.
Key opinions
- SSL Interception: Companies may intercept SSL traffic to inspect email content, often requiring installing certificates on employee devices.
- DLP Systems: Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) systems analyze email content and can block messages or alert administrators if sensitive information is detected.
- Email Security Gateways: Email security gateways filter and modify email traffic to prevent malware and data breaches.
- Content Filtering: Organizations can use content filtering services to inspect and control web traffic, blocking access to specific types of content.
- Port Blocking: Network administrators may block standard email ports to prevent access through desktop email clients, forcing webmail to be used which is then subject to web content filtering.
- Monitoring: Companies monitor employee email accounts on company devices, looking for policy violations and potentially blocking specific sites.
- DLP Solutions: DLP solutions can prevent sensitive data exfiltration through personal email by inspecting email content, attachments, and metadata.
Key considerations
- Employee Privacy: Monitoring and modifying personal email raises privacy concerns for employees.
- Policy Transparency: Organizations should be transparent about their policies regarding personal email usage on company networks.
- Security vs. Usability: There is a trade-off between security measures and ease of use for employees accessing personal email.
- Bypassing Restrictions: Technically savvy users may find ways to bypass restrictions, necessitating robust and up-to-date security measures.
- Data Loss Prevention: Implementing comprehensive DLP strategies is important in today's world.
Marketer view
Email marketer from CSO Online explains that companies may implement policies to restrict or monitor personal webmail usage to protect against data breaches and malware infections, potentially modifying or blocking certain content.
17 Jul 2024 - CSO Online
Marketer view
Email marketer from SANS Institute shares that organizations utilize email security gateways to filter and modify email traffic, including personal email accessed on company networks, to prevent malware and data breaches. These gateways can add disclaimers, quarantine suspicious messages, or block access to certain websites.
2 Dec 2024 - SANS Institute
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
B2B email filters can interact with personal email accounts, such as Gmail and Yahoo, when accessed on a corporate network. These filters can modify the text of messages and provide email isolation to protect against advanced attacks by inspecting traffic when personal email is checked at work.
Key opinions
- Email Isolation: Email isolation protects against attacks while allowing personal email access.
- Text Modification: Business email filters can modify the text of messages.
- Traffic Inspection: B2B filters inspect traffic of personal email accounts accessed at work.
Key considerations
- Privacy Implications: Consider the privacy implications of B2B filters accessing personal email accounts.
- Filter Accuracy: Ensure the filters are accurate to avoid false positives and disruption.
- Transparency: Communicate clearly with employees about the use of B2B filters on personal email.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks mentions that business email filters have zero problem actually modifying the text of your message.
25 Dec 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that "Email Isolation allows users to freely access personal email while protecting your people and your organization from advanced attacks" and explains that some B2B filters actually touch personal accounts (gmail and the like) when the user is checking mail at work.
30 Aug 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Email platforms and security appliances like Gmail, Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Cisco's Web Security Appliance (WSA), Barracuda Networks' security gateway, Proofpoint's TAP, and SonicWall's content filtering service actively scan and modify email content, including personal email accessed on corporate networks. Modifications include adding warnings, quarantining suspicious emails, stripping attachments, blocking messages, and isolating webmail. The goal is to protect against spam, phishing, malware, data breaches, and targeted attacks by inspecting and controlling both inbound and outbound web traffic.
Key findings
- Content Scanning: Email platforms scan content for spam, phishing, and malware.
- Message Modification: Messages can be modified with warnings, disclaimers, or by stripping attachments.
- Traffic Control: Security appliances control and inspect inbound and outbound web traffic.
- Email Isolation: Email isolation protects personal webmail from advanced attacks.
- Policy Enforcement: Platforms enforce policies through actions such as blocking messages or quarantining suspicious content.
Key considerations
- Privacy Impact: Consider the privacy implications of scanning and modifying personal email.
- Policy Configuration: Properly configure policies to balance security and user experience.
- Transparency: Be transparent with users about email scanning and modification practices.
- False Positives: Implement strategies to minimize false positives when scanning content.
- Coverage: Understand that these security tools only cover what they can see, and some personal email usage might bypass these controls.
Technical article
Documentation from Cisco explains that their Web Security Appliance (WSA) can be configured to scan both inbound and outbound web traffic, including personal email accessed through web browsers. This can involve inspecting the content of emails and modifying them to remove malware or prevent data exfiltration.
8 Jan 2025 - Cisco
Technical article
Documentation from SonicWall explains that their content filtering service can inspect and control web traffic, potentially modifying or blocking access to certain types of content within personal email services to prevent security risks.
4 May 2024 - SonicWall
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