How many times a day do you click send on an email? If you are like most people, hundreds. And you probably never give it a second thought. You assume it's safe. You assume it will go to the person you intend it to.

And there is the problem. Organizations, and the people in them, simply never think about email content being stolen – until it happens. In every organization, individual employees are the weakest link when it comes to email security. Remote working, which is coming more ubiquitous and appealing, makes the use of unsecured email (on personal devices) even more likely, adding another weakness. Employees' use of personal mobile devices to access work-related data or connect to unprotected WiFi networks also put their company at risk.

Put a dollar figure on it 

Hacking emails is the cheapest way for cybercriminals to make a profit because it's easy to access and because of the financial value of having someone else's financial and personal data. According to FBI.gov, "Since 2013, when the FBI began tracking an emerging financial cyber threat called business e-mail compromise (BEC), organized crime groups have targeted large and small companies and organizations in every U.S. state and more than 100 countries around the world—from non-profits and well-known corporations to churches and school systems. Losses are in the billions of dollars and climbing"

According to SecurityLedger.com, the FBI and international law enforcement recorded more than 40,000 incidents of BEC or other email account compromise attacks in 2016, a 2,370 percent increase since the start of 2015. And reports are accelerating. In just the last half of 2016, the FBI received reports of 3,044 U.S. victims reporting losses of $346 million.