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Introduction

Proofpoint is a cybersecurity tool that defends a company’s personnel and data from specialized malicious actors that exploit email, social networking, and mobile devices for cyber-attacks. It is a market-leading email protection company that provides several solutions for a variety of email threat vectors. With their SMB-focused Essentials Platform, Proofpoint is a popular alternative for small and medium-sized companies. “Email protection” by Proofpoint is a cloud-based tool that lets organizations filter their mailbox and outbox with ease. This app, unlike any other software tool, can detect and protect users against both known and unknown malware and cyberattacks. This involves imposter emails, which seek to scam personnel into sending money or confidential company information, as well as business email breach, also known as CEO Fraud, which is a rapidly growing threat that can result in major losses for a company.

Mechanism of Email Filtering.

The Proofpoint Security Server filters all incoming (and outgoing) emails. Messages containing a virus, malware, or offensive content will be removed or “scored” depending on the rules and policies of the Proofpoint Security Server. In the case of spam, the response score shows the risk that the message is spam – for example, a message with a score of 100 has a 100% probability of being spam (definite spam), while a message with a score of 0 has a 0% chance of being spam (legitimate correspondence). Messages with a high probability of being spam are quarantined, and those with a low likelihood of becoming spam are sent straight to your inbox.

When Proofpoint blocks an email, it will send you an email (as shown below) with the option to release messages and/or senders that you do not consider to be spam.

Sample Proofpoint email

Proofpoint can also find URLs in your emails and add a prefix that will allow Proofpoint to double-check the URL before opening it in your browser. You won’t notice a delay in loading the URL because Proofpoint analyses it in milliseconds before allowing you to access it.

When you hover your mouse over a link in an email, Outlook displays the URL that the link will take you to. Proofpoint has added a prefix to the URL so that it can be checked before it is sent to you. If Proofpoint deems a URL to be unsafe to access, you will see a message.

Proofpoint Essentials

In addition to email safety, Proofpoint provides a wide range of products to improve a company’s security. Advanced threat protection, security awareness training, cloud security, archiving and compliance, data management, digital risk protection, and premium security services are among the products available. Proofpoint Basics supports small to medium-sized companies from advanced attacks, security challenges, and cybercrime. It delivers enterprise-grade cybersecurity technology and infrastructure targeted to the needs of smaller companies, which is used to secure some of the world’s largest enterprises. Essentials’ key feature protects against email threats, secures confidential data received by email, and maintains business continuity in the case of an email interruption. Proofpoint Essentials provides a variety of email security features that are intended to boost the organization’s overall security efficacy.

Key Features of Proofpoint Essentials.

Targeted threats, malware, malicious emails, malicious websites, BEC, and other unwanted mail are all covered by Proofpoint. Proofpoint Essential protects users from the effects of email outages. It helps users to view their email archives and re-send emails that have been missed or deleted unintentionally. Proofpoint Essentials provides a 10-year email repository and all of the functionality required to hold emails for compliance and regulatory purposes. Multi-level logins, robust logs and monitoring, and integrations are only a few of the management tools that Essentials offer to help you get the best out of the service.

Security Features Spam Filtering, Anti-Virus, Advanced Threat Protection, DMARC, DKIM, and SPF policies, Content Filtering, Phishing Protection, Zero-Hour Outbreak, Attachment Defense, Data Loss Prevention, Email Encryption
Continuity Features Emergency Inbox, Email Spooling, Instant Replay
Email Archiving Features Instant Email Archiving, Exchange and Office 365 Support, 10-Year Email Retention

Multi-Layered threat Protection

To accurately identify known and emerging threats, including malware, the email security feature employs multi-layered threat protection. Proofpoint defends against proven attacks by using signature-based identification and complex credibility analysis for both local and global IPs to decide which emails to accept and which to refuse. The app tests the sender’s reputation by looking at the sender/recipient relationship, headers, and email content. Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) is a feature of their advanced threat protection that identifies, analyses, and prevents potential threats before they enter an inbox, preventing the user from clicking the URL. Advanced email attacks, such as malicious attachments and URLs, are among the threats detected. TAP also provides adaptive controls, which separate most harmful URL clicks. TAP also can identify potential risks and threats inside cloud applications. Proofpoint’s TAP feature does more than just detect threats; it investigates each attack and searches for potential trends and patterns to render capturing the next attacker easier, faster, and more effective.

Content Filtering and Data Loss Prevention

To help avoid data loss, Essentials offers information filtering policies for outbound emails. Admins can ensure that users aren’t sending out private information or confidential documents via email, particularly outside the organization, by using policy-driven filters. It’s critical for companies to stay compliant, particularly in light of data regulations like GDPR. Proofpoint helps you to instantly recognize and handle confidential outgoing data.

Management and Control.

Proofpoint can categorize emails in several languages. Spam, phishing, imposter spam, ransomware, bulk email, and pornographic content are also forms of possible risks that would be quarantined. To eliminate inbox congestion, the inspection feature can define graymail and label such emails as low priority. Emails may be “promoted” to a higher priority or “moved” to a lower priority by users. When using Proofpoint, companies can tailor the guidelines for what constitutes “appropriate use” to better meet their needs.

Proofpoint Essentials Pricing

Proofpoint Essentials is split into four packages, each with its collection of features. Proofpoint is cost-effective in terms of per-user pricing. It’s half the price of equivalent rivals, and it can save companies a lot of money by improving security effectiveness.

Beginner Business Advanced Pro
Price, Per User, Per Month $1.50 $2.75 $3.75 $5.33

The below is a description of the packages:

References:

https://www.nymc.edu/media/schools-and-colleges/nymc/pdf/ProofPoint-FullDocumentation.pdf

https://www.proofpoint.com/us

https://www.proofpoint.com/us/products/email-security-and-protection/email-protection

https://www.datashieldprotect.com/blog/what-is-proofpoint-how-does-it-work

https://csuf.screenstepslive.com/s/12867/m/47716/l/629836-what-is-proofpoint-and-what-does-it-do

https://www.webservio.com/email-security/proofpoint-essentials-email-protection.html