Email Security Expert for Microsoft 365 & Business Email

Experienced Expert

My work combines more than 30 years of enterprise email-system experience with current Microsoft 365 cyber-security expertise.

I can review Exchange Online Protection and Defender for Office 365, anti-phishing controls, Safe Links and Safe Attachments, Entra ID authentication and Conditional Access, Microsoft Purview DLP, mailbox and mail-flow configuration, and the security posture of your email domains.

BEC Email Attacks

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is one of the most serious email security threats facing organisations. Attackers may use phishing, stolen credentials or Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) techniques to compromise Microsoft 365 accounts and impersonate trusted employees, executives or suppliers. Once access is obtained, attackers can monitor email conversations, create hidden inbox rules, redirect messages and manipulate payment or banking instructions.

Effective BEC protection requires more than traditional spam filtering. I help organisations strengthen Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online using Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Entra ID, MFA and Conditional Access, together with secure mailbox configuration and monitoring for suspicious sign-ins, forwarding rules and other indicators of compromise.

Email Authentication Controls

Email authentication remains a critical part of that defence. I assess and harden SPF, DKIM and DMARC, including progression to DMARC p=reject, and can review newer transport and domain-security controls such as DANE, DNSSEC and MTA-STS.

The objective is not simply to pass an online DNS test, but to reduce practical opportunities for domain spoofing, impersonation and fraudulent email delivery.

M365 Exchange Online Protection

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) provides the core email security layer for Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online. It analyses inbound and outbound email to identify and block spam, phishing, malware and other unwanted or malicious messages before they reach users.

EOP protection includes anti-malware scanning, anti-spam and anti-phishing policies, spoof intelligence, connection and content filtering, bulk email controls and outbound spam protection. It also evaluates email authentication technologies such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC to help identify spoofed or impersonated senders.

Email Security Assessment Report

For organisations that want a clear starting point, I provide an Email Security Assessment Report identifying weaknesses, risks and prioritised improvements.

I can then assist with implementation or work alongside your internal IT and security teams. I also undertake deeper Microsoft 365 cyber-security reviews and can assist with BEC and compromised-account investigations where forensic analysis is required.

New Email Security Measures

Modern email security increasingly extends beyond SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Technologies such as ARC (Authenticated Received Chain) help preserve email authentication results when messages pass through intermediaries such as mailing lists and forwarding services, reducing authentication problems caused by legitimate message modification.

MTA-STS helps protect SMTP connections by requiring supporting mail servers to use trusted TLS encryption, reducing the risk of downgrade and interception attacks. CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) provides additional DNS-based control over which certificate authorities may issue certificates for a domain, supporting the wider security of an organisation’s internet services.

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) builds on strong DMARC enforcement by allowing qualifying organisations to display verified brand logos with supported email providers. Although primarily a trust and brand-identification technology rather than an anti-phishing control by itself, BIMI can complement a mature email authentication and domain-security strategy.