Cybersecurity alert: Calvià cyberattack demonstrates need for public administration to strengthen its defenses

In light of the recent cyberattack against the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) of Calvià (Mallorca) in January wherein sensitive citizen and municipal data was compromised, public administrations are facing an urgent need to reevaluate and strengthen their cybersecurity measures. To this end, Retarus, which specializes in cloud-based messaging services, presents a proactive focus on addressing the ever-evolving panorama of threats.
The Retarus Secure Email Platform offers comprehensive and regulation-compliant protection for email infrastructure, which allows organizations to effectively protect their email communication against a wide range of cyberattacks, spam, ransomware, and social engineering. With this type of advance solutions, companies can improve their ability to detect and mitigate threats in real time, guaranteeing the security and integrity of their email communications with a reliable, European-based solution that uses local data centers.
Email continues to be the most common entry point for cyberattacks. According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the basis for the majority of these cyberattacks is a phishing campaign. Through their Secure Email Platform, Retarus offers companies a set of solutions that address the most worrying and persistent aspects.

A shield against business email compromise

Business email compromise is one of the most common cyberfraud tactics these days. This tactic makes use of falsified emails where cybercriminals pass themselves off as senior executives or other figures of authority at a company in order to trick employees and make them participate in fraudulent activities, such as fund transfers or revealing confidential information.
With Retarus CxO Fraud Detection, organizations can detect and prevent these attempts before they result in financial harm. The solution utilizes advanced algorithms to identify falsified sender addresses, known as “from spoofing” and “domain spoofing.” These algorithms can reliably recognize fraudulent email addresses, even when they are well-camouflaged.
When a suspicious email is detected, rather than being sent immediately to the recipient(s), it is instead quarantined. This provides organizations the opportunity to review and validate the authenticity of the message before it can cause any harm.

Strengthening the company’s security beyond the network

Although cybersecurity solutions are effective for detecting the majority of malicious attempts before they get to a company’s network, one hundred percent protection is never guaranteed, resulting in unwanted cyberthreats sometimes getting through. The Retarus Patient Zero Detection adds an additional level of protection by enabling companies to identify malware and phishing links in emails that have already been delivered. This means that suspicious messages can be detected and recovered even after they have reached the inbox.
When new threats arise, including ransomware, that may go undetected for some time, Retarus employs sandboxing technology which makes use of machine learning (ML). This technology executes attachments in a secure virtual environment in order to verify their behavior before allowing them to get into a company’s network. If malicious activity is detected, infected emails are automatically deleted or quarantined in order to prevent further harm. This helps prevent the propagation of zero-day threats and protect the company’s security.

Preventive geographical and language-based analysis

Given the current political climate, it can be useful to preventively isolate all messages originating from certain regions or countries. Regardless of their content, it may be for pure reasons of security or due to internal compliance requirements. Retarus Predelivery Logic allows IT administrators to define rules and analyze all email traffic. If they deem it necessary, they can then block the traffic before it reaches the company’s infrastructure. Emails can be processed specifically based on their country of origin (GeoIP). Depending on the configuration, this may involve isolating the message in the user’s quarantine area. As well as the geographic origin, the language in the email body can be identified and used for automated rules.

Comprehensive and uninterrupted protection in the cloud

If the email infrastructure fails despite exhaustive precautions, Retarus also offers an email continuity solution. Whether due to a cyberattack, a technical problem with the server, or an interruption in the email provider, this solution guarantees that employees can continue to send and receive emails without interruption. In case of crisis, emails are redirected automatically through an independent, secure webmail service. This service is always available in the background, which makes it possible for employees to access their old emails and directories. Furthermore, all backup email boxes are protected by Retarus email security services.
With these advanced solutions, Retarus helps public administrators strengthen their cybersecurity position and protect their email systems against growing cyberthreats.

About Retarus

Retarus is a global provider of APIs, gateways, and applications for messaging, email management, and the exchange of structured data for business processes – with top performance, security, and data protection, provided from the company's self-operated data centers around the globe. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Retarus is owner-managed and proud of its innovation power. The company employs a staff of around 500 at 20 locations on four continents. Retarus' services are leveraged by the world's leading companies. The services are sold directly by Retarus or in close collaboration with selected partners. Analysts constantly commend Retarus' outstanding quality and reliability. More details: www.retarus.com