Security Bite: Why Your Inbox Is Still So Bad at Blocking Malware and Spam

Many people don’t know that there’s a smart buffer that exists before emails hit the inbox. This is where each email is scanned, ideally blocking any malicious message before it arrives. However, over the years, email providers (mostly Gmail) have instead become more focused on adding “warning labels”; sending emails that contain links or attachments that they suspect are up to no good. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig. Despite these efforts, 91% of all cyberattacks still come from the inbox.

If you think Google, Apple, and Microsoft could do more, you’re right. So why haven’t they?

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First, let's look at how bad things are currently.

In a previous edition of 9to5Mac Security Bite, I discussed a recent study by web browser security startup SquareX showing how little companies are doing to blocking malicious attachments and protecting users.

The research team took several different types of malware samples, attached them to emails, and sent them via Proton Mail to iCloud Mail, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo! Mail and AOL, part of Yahoo! group. It is noteworthy that if emails were successfully delivered to users, they may be vulnerable to any potential threat contained in these attachments.

The table below shows the results of sending 7 out of 100 malicious samples to various email providers, indicating whether a malicious attachment was delivered. “If an email was not delivered, it is a sign that malware was detected while the email was being processed by the server,” says SquareX research.

Table showing which malware samples passed which email provider's scanners and were successfully delivered.
Image: SquareX

The Dilemma

Investing in strong email security features may seem like an obvious important part of protecting your users. However, Ian Thornton-Trump, chief information security officer at threat intelligence solutions company Cyjax, told Forbes: “It's like asking the free Wi-Fi at Starbucks why they don't block more or all cyberattacks.” He went on to explain that it's difficult to combine free and secure in the same sentence.

Thornton-Trump argues that adding advanced email security features “can be very problematic due to the false positives that can lead to exploitation.” technical support.” resources that can be helped or corrected – such an expense for millions of users on a free platform may not be commercially viable.”

Moreover, others claim that email providers are dragging their feet on something that could cost significant resources and impact their bottom line. With the upcoming release of iOS 18, macOS 15 and others next week, I'm interested to see if Apple integrates any AI security features into the Mail app, which could, among other things, analyze attachments and URLs in emails. emails in real time. different things.

I'm interested to hear your opinion. Let me know if you're still not using your AOL email account from elementary school…

About Security Bite: Security Bite is a weekly security event. targeted column on 9to5Mac. Every week, Arin Vaichulis shares information about data privacy, identifies vulnerabilities, or sheds light on emerging threats across Apple's vast ecosystem of more than 2 billion active devices to help you stay safe.