It’s a dangerous fact, but all cybersecurity solutions are not created equal. Security products use different architectures to protect a company’s data. Some solutions scan emails after they’ve already been delivered to an email exchange server like Outlook; others scan data before it ever enters the system.

Keep in mind that just because a company has brand recognition doesn’t mean its protection techniques are effective against the latest threats in today’s rapidly evolving market. In fact, some of the more entrenched, legacy cybersecurity providers are at a disadvantage in addressing the most current threats because their software was designed before many of these emerging attack methods were even developed. These providers play catch-up with patches after flaws are revealed, which can be disastrous for those unlucky companies who first discovered the software’s faults.

New threats like “zero-click” attacks have come on the scene that don’t even require interaction from the user for them to self-deploy. No downloading or link-clicking is necessary—these threats activate the moment they reach a network exchange. Security solutions that rely on post-delivery scanning can’t stop these more sophisticated incidents since the malicious code launches before the email can be scanned. The original offending email is typically deleted as part of the malware’s instructions, making this type of breach harder to detect or to trace after the fact.

The Flaws in API-based, Post-Delivery Scanning Solutions

Many top-tier brands use this post-delivery architecture. They work by leveraging an API integration with platforms like Office 365 or Google’s G-Suite. Yet by depending on the API, these solutions leave companies open to any vulnerabilities that are inherent in those integrations.

For example, if the API only scans for certain types of threats, it may miss newer, more sophisticated threats that haven’t yet been programmed into its system. Similarly, if the API experiences performance issues and fails to scan emails in a timely manner, the recipient will be exposed to potential threats during that period.

API-based solutions are proving to have significant flaws. For instance, if an administrator sets email forwarding rules in this environment, the system will automatically send those messages to a third party (e.g., Salesforce or Office 365) before the security software has a chance to scan them. Those forwarded emails, therefore, go perilously unfiltered. And this type of solution has no chance whatsoever of screening out a zero-click attack, where the malicious code deploys the instant it reaches the exchange.

Fortifying with Pre-Delivery Screening

With threats like zero-click malware looming, post-delivery scanning isn’t sufficient to keep a network protected. Next-generation cybersecurity software has opted for the more effective pre-delivery scanning method, where email data is evaluated before it gets to the network exchange. In addition to filtering zero-click malware before it can deploy itself, pre-delivery scanning has far-reaching advantages over the traditional post-delivery approach.

• A pre-delivery scanning solution can check for compliance with organizational policies, such as email size limits and content restrictions. This helps to enforce a business’ security standards and prevent the spread of sensitive information.

• Pre-delivery scanning is more comprehensive than traditional post-delivery techniques. Combined with powerful AI-driven filters, pre-delivery scans have been known to more readily detect phishing and social engineering attacks by interpreting text and key phrases within the users’ email messages. This method is also far more sophisticated than the typical security email gateway (SEG)-based filters, which simply screen out mail from known malicious IP addresses.

• A pre-delivery architecture scans emails continuously, in real-time, delivering immediate protection as evolving threats are introduced. In contrast, post-delivery scans are often performed on a repeating schedule as opposed to consistently in real-time, providing a window of opportunity for a successful attack between intervals.

If companies truly want to keep up with the changing threat landscape, they need solutions that are built to address the newest types of threats, not ones that are patched as an afterthought or that leave their networks vulnerable. A pre-delivery scanning architecture fits that bill, offering more comprehensive protection.