5 ways that unsecured email signatures put employees at risk

Email signatures are more than just contact information. They’re an extension of a company’s brand and help maintain email security. A well-designed, secure email signature reinforces brand consistency and professional image across every message, helping build trust with recipients.  

But beyond branding, email signatures that are uniform and securely managed prevent phishing risks and impersonation. They do this by making it harder for cybercriminals to exploit brand credibility. According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 68% of breaches involved a non-malicious human element, including phishing and social engineering attacks. This makes consistent, secure email signatures a key line of defense in safeguarding employee interactions. 

5 ways that unsecured email signatures put employees at risk 

Unsecured business email signatures can expose employees to several risks due to vulnerabilities in both the signature content and the systems managing them. Here are the key ways in which they create risk: 

1. Phishing and impersonation

Unsecured email signatures can allow cybercriminals to mimic your company’s branding and employee information. This opens the door to phishing attacks where recipients are tricked into thinking the emails are from legitimate sources. If hackers replicate email signatures, they can impersonate employees and trick others into sharing sensitive information. 

2. Data leakage

Email signatures often include contact details, job titles, and sometimes even direct phone numbers or internal information. If these aren’t secured, they may reveal details that help cybercriminals understand your organization and identify high-value targets. 

3. Inconsistent security protocols

Without a centralized, secured email signature management platform, employees can use outdated or incorrect versions of signature templates These will miss key security elements like email disclaimers or legal notices. This inconsistency can make some messages appear less credible and might expose sensitive information. 

4. Malware delivery

A hacked or unsecured email signature system can easily be manipulated to insert malicious links or attachments into employee signatures. This turns every outgoing email into a potential malware delivery tool, compromising both internal and external recipients. 

5. Reputational risk

If email signatures are compromised or used fraudulently, the company’s brand reputation can suffer. Clients or contacts who receive suspicious emails may question your employees, creating trust issues that potentially impact business relationships. 

By securing email signatures through a managed platform, companies can maintain consistency, prevent unauthorized access, and add protective measures to keep employees and company data safer. 

7 steps for securing your company’s email signatures 

Secure email signatures are a key part of any company’s cybersecurity plan. To secure their email signatures, companies should follow these steps: 

1. Use a centralized email signature management solution 

Use a dedicated email signature platform to control, design, and update signatures across all employees’ emails. This ensures that every signature is consistent, professional, and adheres to security policies. 

2. Establish brand and security standards for signatures 

Create a standardized email signature template with approved branding elements, up-to-date contact information, and legal disclaimer. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized modifications and ensures compliance with brand guidelines. 

3. Use encrypted and verified links in signatures 

Only include links to secure, verified URLs in email signatures, such as company websites or social media pages. Avoid short URLs as they can hide their true destination and potentially cause security issues. 

4. Apply access controls for signature edits 

Restrict email signature editing permissions to designated administrators. This prevents unauthorized changes and reduces the likelihood of security risks. 

5. Monitor email signature usage and update regularly 

Track how signatures are being used and regularly review for any unusual or suspicious activity. Ensure email signatures are updated as needed to reflect current branding, legal requirements, or security concerns. 

6. Train employees on email signature security best practices 

Educate employees about the importance of email signature security and preventing phishing. Make sure they understand that email signatures are part of the company’s digital identity and security. 

7. Integrate email signature management with existing security tools 

Connect your email signature solution with existing security protocols and tools, such as anti-phishing, email filtering, and encryption. This reinforces security and helps detect any signature-related vulnerabilities. 

By taking these steps, companies can reduce risks associated with unsecured email signatures and ensure that their digital communications remain consistent, secure, and professional. 

Why use centralized email signature management?

Managed email signature solutions provide a centralized platform where administrators can design and control signatures for all employees. This allows companies to enforce brand guidelines such as logos, fonts, and disclaimers on every email. 

Centralized control also adds added layers of cybersecurity by preventing unauthorized modifications to email signatures, reducing the risk of impersonation and phishing attacks. For instance, companies can restrict links to verified URLs only so that malicious links can’t be added to email signature templates. Additionally, administrators can quickly deploy emergency updates across all employees' signatures as a rapid response to potential threats. 

Email signature software also integrates with security protocols, allowing IT teams to monitor and audit signature usage, spot unusual activity, and ensure each template follows security standards. All this adds a critical layer of protection to business communications, enhancing. 

Best features for a centralized email signature manager 

When choosing a centralized email signature management platform, there are several key security-focused features to prioritize to keep your organization's emails safe and secure: 

1. Data encryption 

Ensure that the platform encrypts data both in transit and at rest, protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access or interception. 

2. Secure API integrations 

Look for compatibility with secure APIs for email platforms, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, to allow seamless integration without compromising security. 

3. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) 

RBAC lets administrators assign specific access rights based on users' roles, so only authorized personnel can make changes to email signatures. This limits the risk of unauthorized modifications. 

4. Audit logs and monitoring 

A robust platform should track changes and provide detailed audit logs for each modification, showing who made edits and when. This is essential for troubleshooting and maintaining accountability. 

5. Compliance management 

Ensure that the solution can support compliance with standards such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA, especially if your emails handle sensitive data. 

6. Phishing protection 

Some platforms include phishing protection, flagging suspicious links or attachments within signatures to prevent potential threats from spreading through employee emails. 

7. IP whitelisting and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 

These security measures prevent unauthorized access, ensuring only recognized users and devices can log in to the system. 

8. Automatic updates and patching 

The platform should receive regular updates to address security vulnerabilities, to stay protected against emerging threats. 

9. Anti-tampering measures 

This feature ensures signatures can’t be modified manually by end users, preserving the integrity of corporate branding and security settings. 

A well-equipped signature management platform with these features can enhance brand consistency, safeguard sensitive information, and ensure regulatory compliance across all organizational emails. 

Let Exclaimer secure your email signatures 

Email signature security is important because every email sent reflects a company’s brand and can potentially serve as an entry point for cyberthreats. Unsecured signatures expose organizations to security risks like phishing, impersonation, and data leakage, as they can be exploited by cybercriminals looking to deceive clients, partners, and employees.  

With Exclaimer, businesses can centrally manage and secure email signatures, ensuring consistency and protection across every message. Exclaimer’s platform enforces brand guidelines, adds protective layers to combat phishing, and integrates with existing security frameworks to reduce vulnerability. By using Exclaimer, companies enhance their brand professionalism, improve email security, and protect employees, external contacts, and their brand from cyberthreats. 

Keep your emails safe and secure by centrally controlling them on one platform. Read more here about how we protect your email communications, and sign up for a free trial of Exclaimer today