Data Protection Methods for Messages Sent From Email Server SMTP

In this age of internet, email is one of the most favored modes of communication. It is also one of the most cost efficient and convenient messaging solutions. However, business houses and personal users must make every effort to protect their data from the hackers. Data theft has become a common phenomenon; with the threat coming in the message body and also in the form of an attachment.

An email sent from the SMTP mail server software may contain valuable financial data or other confidential data to recipients located in any part of the world. In the absence of encryption and other data protection technology, an email stands the risk of being altered, copied or read in the hands of a malicious group. Usually, these dangerous minds are identity thieves who target sensitive data like credit card details, bank details, tax returns, and new loan information. They steal the data for several unethical practices like blackmailing and spamming. Technicians and professionals engaged in data protection have termed this unethical practice as ‘phishing'. By monitoring your mails and manipulating them, they get access to your personal data.
A phishing mail is almost similar to the message sent from the email server SMTP. They copy the format and scheme of the message sent by the original sender to perfection. If the original mail happens to be a business quote or letter, the frauds even copy the design and color of the company logo to win your trust. These bad guys then somehow convince you to click a link, which invariably leads to a webpage or site created by them. The trap is perfectly laid by the tricksters, and you fall for it by gifting your precious data; in return for something which you will never get. The original links included in the messages are actually changed by the phishers for fulfilling their malicious needs. These links often serve as the gateway to hack sensitive data like account names and passwords.
The method of authentication is common for protecting SMTP mail server softwarefrom unknown disguised attacks. One important tool of this method for protecting data is the digital signatures. It is difficult for the hackers to break the encryption technology used for digital signatures. Therefore, a message send from the email server SMTP with a digital signature on it provides authenticity. Some almost similar SMTP services can also be offered to an authorized user through the method of authentication. By sharing the same password and username with the SMTP server, you empower them with the right to identify you as an individual user. This also means that you now would be sharing a same network as that of the SMTP server for future communications. This process of safeguarding valuable data is known as unilateral authentication.
The unilateral authentication verifies the sender's status every time a mail is sent. It allows the message to reach the SMTP mail server first before being delivered to its recipient. You can search internet to know more about various data protection methods.