Email Security for Australian Businesses
Email is the number-one entry point for cyber attacks against Australian businesses — phishing attacks, BEC, malicious attachments and account takeover. PIP’s email security solution combines gateway filtering, authentication protocol configuration and staff training to protect your inbox and strengthen protection across your organisation.
Why email security matters
Email is the primary threat vector for cyber threats against Australian businesses. More than 94% of organisations experienced phishing attacks in the past year — email attacks that impersonate trusted parties to steal sensitive data from email accounts, compromise credentials and gain unauthorized access to business systems. BEC — where attackers intercept or impersonate business communication to redirect financial transfers or extract sensitive information — is one of the most financially damaging email threats facing Australian organisations.
Human error contributes to 95% of data breaches. Data breaches frequently originate through email, which means email security measures must combine technical email security controls with staff training, awareness programs and clear reporting procedures. Meanwhile, 82% of phishing emails now use AI-generated content — making them harder to identify by appearance alone and making technical technical solutions, advanced threat detection and filtering essential rather than optional.
Email security is not a single product — it is an email security strategy that combines gateway filtering, email authentication, threat detection, staff awareness and incident response planning. PIP manages the full email security stack as part of your managed IT service. PIP can also conduct an email security review as part of a broader cyber security audit — identifying email security gaps before email attacks exploit them.
The email threats PIP protects against
These are the most common email-based threats facing Australian businesses — the email attacks that email protection measures and PIP’s solution are designed to stop.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing emails impersonate trusted organisations — banks, the ATO, Microsoft, Australia Post — to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or entering credentials into fake websites. Modern phishing attempts are convincing, personalised and increasingly AI-generated. Email security best practices require technical filtering and threat detection rather than relying on user vigilance alone to catch phishing messages.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
BEC involves an attacker intercepting or impersonating business communications — typically to redirect financial transfers, obtain invoice payment details or steal sensitive data. These attacks often involve no malware or malicious links — they look like legitimate business communication. SPF, DKIM and DMARC records make domain spoofing significantly harder and are core email security measures against BEC.
Malicious Attachments
Malicious email attachments — executable files, Office documents with macros enabled, and PDFs with embedded scripts — are a persistent ransomware and malware delivery mechanism. Email security systems scan attachments at the gateway before they reach the inbox. Application control and macro restrictions add further email security protection against malicious content and malicious software that spreads malware through email.
Account Takeover
Once an attacker has compromised an email account — through phishing, credential stuffing or brute force attacks — they can send spam, send fraudulent emails internally, intercept sensitive communications, redirect financial transfers and gain access to connected computer systems. The compromise turns a single email account into a platform for further email attacks. Multi-factor authentication and suspicious login monitoring are the primary email security defences against account takeover.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC — email authentication
These three authentication protocols work together to verify sender identity, prevent domain spoofing and enhance email security for your domain. PIP configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC as part of every email security engagement — they are the backbone of domain-level email security.
Sender Policy Framework
SPF records are DNS TXT records that specify which mail servers are authorised to send email on behalf of your domain — preventing other servers from spoofing your sender address. Without Sender Policy Framework, attackers can send emails that appear to come from your domain, impersonating your business to clients, suppliers or staff. SPF is the first email security measure PIP configures for every domain.
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DomainKeys Identified Mail adds a digital signature to outgoing messages — a cryptographic stamp that receiving mail servers can verify against a public key in your DNS records. DKIM confirms that the email genuinely came from an authorised sender and has not been altered in transit. DKIM is essential for data protection and verifying that email communications are genuine.
Domain-Based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance
DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM — it tells receiving mail servers what to do with emails that fail authentication (quarantine them, reject them, or report them). Domain-based message authentication reporting also generates reports that let PIP monitor for domain spoofing attempts and enhance email security. SPF, DKIM and DMARC together form the broader security stack for email authentication and are essential email security best practices.
Email encryption adds another layer — encrypting data in transit so that email communications containing sensitive information, financial data or intellectual property cannot be intercepted and read by unauthorised parties. PIP configures email encryption for organisations that handle sensitive data and sensitive information requiring secure email communication. SPF DKIM and DMARC combined with email encryption provide comprehensive protection for both inbound and outgoing messages.
The complete email security stack
PIP’s email security solution covers every layer — from gateway filtering and email security systems to user training and email security tactics. Here is what PIP configures, monitors and maintains as part of your managed IT email security service.
Email gateway filtering
Inbound email is scanned at the gateway before it reaches the inbox — spam filtering, blocking known malicious senders, quarantining suspicious attachments and scanning URLs for malicious destinations. Gateway filtering is the first layer of protection and the most effective way to stop email based threats before they reach users.
This measure handles the volume — blocking spam emails, identifying threats and filtering malicious content at scale.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration
PIP configures SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication records for your domain, ensuring outgoing messages are verifiable and protecting your domain from being spoofed in phishing attacks targeting your clients or staff. These authentication protocols are essential email security measures that verify sender identity and enhance email security for every email your domain sends.
Phishing link protection
URLs in emails are rewritten and scanned at click time — so suspicious links that appear safe at delivery but are later weaponised are caught before the user reaches a malicious site. This email security tactic protects against phishing attacks that evade initial gateway scanning and is an essential part of advanced threat protection.
Malicious attachment scanning
Malicious attachments are scanned for malicious content before delivery. Executable files, macro-enabled Office documents and script-embedded PDFs are flagged or quarantined by the email security solution. Attachment scanning stops malicious email attachments from reaching the inbox — preventing threats from being deployed through email.
Microsoft 365 email security configuration
For organisations using Microsoft 365, PIP configures Microsoft Defender for Office 365 settings, conditional access policies and audit logging — hardening the platform beyond its default settings. Microsoft 365 email security configuration is a best practice that strengthens the platform most Australian businesses use for email.
Multi-factor authentication for email
MFA is configured for all email accounts — so a compromised password alone cannot result in account takeover. Multi factor authentication is one of the most effective email security measures to protect email access and prevent attackers from using a compromised email account to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data, financial data, intellectual property and other personal data.
Suspicious login monitoring
Alerts are configured for login activity that indicates account compromise — impossible travel, unfamiliar locations, bulk email sends or configuration changes. Suspicious login monitoring enhances email security by catching account takeover attempts early, before it can be used to steal sensitive data or send spam to contacts.
Phishing simulation and user training
Controlled phishing simulations measure staff susceptibility to email attacks. Results are used to target security awareness training at individuals and teams who need additional support. Email security training programs are scenario-based and relevant — covering how to spot phishing, reporting suspicious emails, and how to handle urgent requests for financial data or sensitive information. User training closes the human error gap that technical email security controls alone cannot address.
Business email compromise — the email threat with no malware
Invoice fraud is one of the most financially damaging email threats facing Australian businesses — and it typically involves no malicious software, no malicious attachments and no dramatic attack. Instead, These email attacks look like legitimate business communication: a supplier changing their bank account details, an executive making an urgent request for a transfer, a finance team member sending payment instructions.
The email attack works because the email appears to come from a trusted party — often because the attacker has compromised a legitimate email account, or because domain spoofing makes the sender address look genuine. This is why email security solutions that verify sender identity are essential.
How PIP’s email security protects against BEC
DMARC, DKIM and SPF configuration makes domain spoofing significantly harder. Display name spoofing detection flags emails where the display name matches a known contact but the sending domain does not. Executive impersonation alerts monitor for email attacks impersonating senior staff or known suppliers. And targeted training covers specific BEC scenarios: how to verify bank account changes, how to handle urgent requests and what to do when something feels unusual. These tactics work together to protect against the most sophisticated threats.
“The BEC attack we get called about most often is the supplier invoice redirect — the attacker either compromises a supplier’s email account or spoofs their domain, then emails the accounts payable team with updated bank account details. The payment goes to the attacker. By the time anyone realises what happened, the money is gone. DMARC would have stopped the domain spoofing version. Verified payment procedures would have stopped the compromised account version. Both are preventable — but only if they’re in place before the attack.”
— Brad Dixon, PIP [EXPERIENCE QUOTE — approve or replace]Email security user training
Technical email security controls stop the majority of email threats — but human error remains the gap that email security best practices must address. PIP’s security teams deliver user training that enhances email security at the human layer.
Phishing Simulation
PIP designs and sends controlled phishing simulations tailored to your organisation — industry-specific lures, impersonation of real suppliers and realistic scenarios. Results are anonymised and used to target email security training at individuals and security teams who are most susceptible to phishing attacks. Phishing simulation tests your defences in real conditions.
Security Awareness Training
Scenario-based awareness training programs covering: how to identify suspicious emails and suspicious links, what to do when something looks wrong, how to report through proper channels, and how BEC attacks work. Training is practical and relevant — not an annual checkbox.
PIP’s best practices include educate-and-test cycles that build real awareness across the organisation, strengthening the human defences that protect sensitive information from email attacks.
Reporting Culture
PIP helps organisations establish clear, simple procedures for reporting — so when a staff member receives a suspicious email, they know exactly what to do and are encouraged (not penalised) for reporting it. A strong reporting culture enhances email security by enabling faster threat detection and limiting the damage when an email attack does get through. Reporting costs nothing but stops incidents from escalating.
Why Australian businesses choose PIP for email security
PIP’s email security is not a standalone product — it is built into your managed IT relationship. That means the same team that manages your systems, your network and your endpoints also manages your email security. When an email-based threat gets through, PIP’s security teams are already across your environment and can respond immediately — there is no handoff between vendors, no knowledge gap and no delay. Email security is part of the service, not an add-on.
For organisations handling sensitive information, sensitive data, financial data and intellectual property, email based threats represent the highest-risk attack surface. PIP’s solution addresses every layer of that risk — from the technical controls (gateway filtering, SPF DKIM and DMARC, threat detection, email encryption) to the human layer (staff training, phishing simulation, reporting culture). The result is an email security posture that protects against both commodity email based threats and targeted email attacks like BEC.
PIP’s best practices and tactics are aligned with the ASD Essential Eight and Australian compliance frameworks. Email security is regularly reviewed as part of ongoing assessments — so your protection evolves as email threats, email-based threats and the broader threat landscape change. PIP does not set and forget — protection is actively managed, monitored and updated as part of your IT service, with regular reviews that identify new risks before they become incidents.
Is your email security actually configured?
Most businesses have spam filtering. Fewer have SPF, DKIM and DMARC correctly configured, phishing link protection active, and security awareness training in place. PIP’s email security solution covers the full stack — configured, monitored and maintained.
Talk to PIP About Email Security →Email security — common questions
A basic email security check covers: whether your domain has SPF, DKIM and DMARC records correctly configured (these email security measures prevent domain spoofing and verify sender identity); whether your email gateway is filtering inbound mail for spam, malicious attachments and phishing links; whether multi factor authentication is enabled for all email accounts; and whether staff have been trained on phishing and BEC scenarios.
PIP can conduct an email security review as part of a broader cyber security audit — identifying gaps before attacks exploit them.
A secure email communication environment requires all layers working together — from the email gateway and authentication protocols through to staff training and reporting procedures. Many Australian businesses have email access configured but lack the authentication records, threat detection and security awareness training that stop the more sophisticated email based threats.
BEC involves an attacker impersonating a trusted party — a supplier, an executive or a business partner — to trick the recipient into taking a financial action (redirecting a payment, sharing credentials or transferring funds). BEC email attacks often involve no malware — the email simply looks like legitimate business communication.
In Australia, BEC is one of the most financially damaging cyber threats to SMBs. PIP’s email security solution protects against BEC through domain authentication configuration (SPF, DKIM and DMARC), display name spoofing detection, executive impersonation alerts and staff training on how to verify payment instruction changes. These tactics address the specific email threats that BEC represents.
These are three email protocols that work together to enhance email security and verify the legitimacy of emails sent from your domain. Sender Policy Framework (SPF) specifies which servers can send email on your behalf — preventing your domain from being spoofed. DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) adds a digital signature to verify that an email was genuinely sent from an authorised source.
Domain-based message authentication reporting and conformance (DMARC) tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, and generates reports that allow PIP to monitor for spoofing attempts. SPF, DKIM and DMARC should be configured correctly for every business domain — they are email security best practices and essential security solutions for any email security strategy.
Securing email against phishing attacks requires multiple layers of email security: gateway filtering to scan inbound emails and block known threats; phishing link protection to catch links weaponised after delivery; attachment scanning to block dangerous attachments; SPF, DKIM and DMARC to prevent domain spoofing; implement multi-factor authentication to protect email accounts if credentials are compromised; and phishing simulation and awareness training so staff can identify phishing attempts and report potential threats.
PIP manages all of these measures as part of the email security service — an email security solution that is configured, monitored and maintained within your managed IT relationship. These email security best practices, combined with advanced threat detection and regular email security reviews, protect sensitive data, sensitive information, and confidential data against email-based threats and cyber attacks.
Email security for Microsoft 365
Most Australian businesses use Microsoft 365 for email. Out of the box, Microsoft 365 includes basic email security — but the default settings leave significant gaps that email attacks routinely exploit. PIP configures Microsoft Defender for Office 365, conditional access policies, audit logging and advanced threat protection to harden the platform beyond its default configuration.
PIP’s email security configuration for Microsoft 365 includes: enforcing SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain; enabling safe attachments and safe links policies; configuring anti-phishing policies with impersonation protection; setting up encryption for sensitive communications and sensitive data; and establishing alert rules for suspicious login activity and email forwarding changes that could indicate account takeover.
These email security measures are part of PIP’s broader managed IT service — not a separate engagement. PIP’s security teams monitor and maintain the Microsoft 365 email security configuration alongside the rest of your environment. When Microsoft releases new security features or email security updates, PIP evaluates and deploys them as part of its email security service — keeping your email security posture current against evolving threats and cyber threats without requiring your internal team to track platform changes.
Email is where most attacks start. Secure it properly.
PIP’s email security service combines gateway filtering, email authentication protocol configuration, advanced threat protection, phishing protection and staff training — managed as part of your IT service. PIP’s security solutions that protect your organisation, not a separate product to configure yourself.