ExchangeDefender Supernet
Last month we announced a major upgrade and expansion of our network to better serve our clients in a more challenging cybersecurity world. I’m sure you’ve seen many stories in the news about cyber attacks and how some groups and nations are expected to attack our critical infrastructure.
We can assure you that those threats are real and are ongoing in a very focused fashion. In order to prepare for a more massive attack, we’ve had to rely on some BGP routing magic to make ExchangeDefender far more resilient.
Make sure you allow inbound SMTP traffic from ExchangeDefender’s 65.99.255.0/24 (255.255.255.0) range.
This range has been in use by ExchangeDefender since 2003 so if you’ve followed our deployment guide correctly you should be all set. If you’ve chosen to deploy ExchangeDefender differently and have other scanning/security active on that range, you might see email delivery delays and failures. Easy fix, just add the whole class C.
What is happening under the hood is that all of our different data centers are routing traffic via the same 65.99.255.x range. Even if half of our data centers disappear due to a telecom or power event, we will be able to continue email delivery.
As you’ve seen over the past year, we’ve focused on Inbox, LiveArchive, and upcoming Replay features to improve security and reliability. Like you, we wake up every day to another Exchange/Gmail event/issue/policy/fubar and nobody likes losing email or the ability to communicate. This is why having ExchangeDefender around your email infrastructure is critical if email is critical to your organization. The new supernet has been routing messages for over a month with no issue and on Wednesday, May 15th we will make it available for everyone.
Enhanced Security: ExchangeDefender Now Supports Custom Authenticator Apps for MFA!
ExchangeDefender has recently enhanced our MFA features (multi-factor authentication) to help you enforce domain-level MFA compliance and to make it easier for users to be enrolled and protected by a layered authentication process automatically.
Simply put, we’re making it easier for you to keep everyone protected.
Today we are announcing ExchangeDefender MFA support for custom authenticator apps. By now everyone is familiar with our typical MFA functionality, available under your Settings at https://admin.exchangedefender.com. Just scan the QR code on your device and you’re set!
BUT WHAT IF YOUR DEVICE DOESN’T HAVE A CAMERA?
ExchangeDefender now supports MFA app enrollment using a QR code. This is great for scenarios in which:
– You don’t have a camera on your device
– The QR code doesn’t seem to scan (problems with the camera or monitor)
– You want to use a text-based MFA app
– You want to integrate PowerShell/no-code with MFA
– You want to share your MFA codes with others
If you’re in one of those scenarios, note the text under the QR code when you start the enrollment:
Click on the Can’t scan? Show code link and you’ll get the TOTP secret (aka secret code, MFA code). Paste it in your solution and paste back the 6 digit code it generates. That’s it, you’re done. MFA is now enforced and ExchangeDefender will rely on the codes generated by your app to validate MFA and grant access to your account.
All our features come from user feedback so if there is something we need to be doing to keep you more secure please let us know!
Enhanced MFA Enforcement Policy: Strengthening ExchangeDefender Security Measures
For years, ExchangeDefender users have enjoyed enhanced login security via multi-factor authentication security (aka MFA, 2FA, OTP). In our March feature update, we hope to improve your security and enhance MFA enrollment to keep you and your data safe. Allow us to introduce to you the new MFA Enforcement Policy!
Note from the boss: Before we get to any discussion of policies, our official recommendation is to enforce MFA on every service we provide and to rotate passwords at least once a quarter. I know, nobody likes the second validation prompt but this is a standard in the industry and I can’t think of a bank or a vendor that doesn’t require it. Maybe I’m jaded because we’re a cybersecurity company.. and with all the layers of MFA/VPN/auth we have in place I spend an insane amount of time trying to find my key or wait for the new pin to display in my authentication app. Because when I interact with a vendor that holds my information and they have no login security.. all I can wonder is what else they’re not doing to keep my data safe? Is this a real business or some WordPress plugin?
At the same time, I understand we have a ton of customers in SMB space where sometimes (obnoxious) tech can be slow and difficult to implement. But you pay us to keep you safe – and to keep your backups safe, and to keep your business continuity safe, and to do that we absolutely must require MFA. But we also can’t expect staff who have clicked on a Release/Trust link for over a decade to be cool with suddenly being forced into MFA enforcement workflow on Monday. So we designed a compromise. I hope it fits your organization and I hope you adopt it as fast as possible.
Sincerely,
–Vlad Mazek, CEO Own Web Now Corp.
In March 2024 you will have the ability to enforce or require MFA enrollment at the domain level. What this means is that you’ll be able to require MFA enrollment with an authenticator app for everyone with just one click at https://admin.exchangedefender.com:
With this policy, you can secure your users’ login with multi-factor authentication without making them enroll a device.
How does it work?
When your users go to admin.exchangedefender.com and attempt to access Inbox, WFS, or LiveArchive we will check their MFA enrollment and if none is found we’ll just tell them we have to verify their identity:
When they check their mailbox they’ll see an email from ExchangeDefender and just provide the code back.
This way your ExchangeDefender login is technically secured at ExchangeDefender with MFA even if you haven’t enrolled a device in MFA yet. There is no way to get into the secure areas of your account without enrolling into MFA. But what if someone guessed the password, they can just enroll a device and hijack the account, right? No.
When you set MFA Enforcement to Required/Forced, all your users are automatically set into an MFA mode that relies on their email address for secondary verification. When they visit admin.exchangedefender.com for the first time and provide their username and password the system will check their MFA enrollment and if email MFA is detected the system will send them an email with a verification code to proceed. This way we’re using the email MFA as a way to verify their identity and then we enroll their authenticator app as usual by scanning the QR code.
ExchangeDefender Quarantine Reports behavior will not change at all as a result of the change in the MFA Enforcement policy. ExchangeDefender Quarantine Reports do not rely on the login system at all as the user is never prompted to authenticate to trigger the release of the message. Instead, quarantine operations are tokenized and one “release” request does not automatically grant any other release or trust requests with the same token. It also doesn’t automatically log them into ExchangeDefender so there is no getting by the MFA!
Secure your logins now
It’s 2024 and the world has changed when it comes to authentication and identity when dealing with services online. Experiencing a cybersecurity threat or compromise is an incredibly expensive and frustrating experience that can easily be avoided by requiring an ID check before granting access to sensitive information. ExchangeDefender MFA Enforcement Policy is your way to protecting your organization from unauthorized and unverified access.
Improved SPAM Release Security: Quick Release
ExchangeDefender is giving users more power to lock down their valuable data. Now that ExchangeDefender handles business continuity and backups for M365/Gmail tenants there is even more information in ExchangeDefender that demands more flexibility with security policies. First, let’s talk about the upcoming feature that allows you to lock down your ExchangeDefender SPAM Quarantine Report activity.
Bit of background: ExchangeDefender Quarantine Reports are an immensely popular ExchangeDefender feature (coming up for an upgrade this spring btw!) that sends users a list of quarantined messages with a set schedule. Users tend to rarely look in Junk Items or review SPAM unless they are waiting for something so this is a cool feature that our users just love. Scroll down the list of quarantined messages and release or trust just by tapping the link. Super convenient, but does it meet your security requirements?
ExchangeDefender Quick Release feature now enables you to choose between convenience and a more secure release process. For many organizations, having the message released or get added to trusted senders with just a click is a huge time saver and user convenience. But if your Microsoft M365 / Gmail account gets compromised (which happens ALL the time) or you deploy a new security/business/CRM (mostly AI stuff) that scans links then this “convenience” can turn into an Inbox packed with SPAM messages that some hacker/service inadvertently released.
If this happens to you, know that ExchangeDefender can help with the “Secure Release” setting. By enforcing Secure Release, when the user clicks to release or trust a message they will be prompted to authenticate before they can release/trust the message. This way if you get hacked or install link scanning/crawling software in your tenant will not be able to access the messages without a password.
Now please, go setup your favorite authenticator app with ExchangeDefender MFA (next up, you can set it to be mandatory/required)
ExchangeDefender Domain Default Security Policy
Has it been a while since you last reviewed your email policies? Do you need to make sure that every user in your organization gets the same protection and the same service behavior and reporting?
We’ve taken some of our most popular features and wrapped them in a user-friendly wizard that will allow you to quickly configure ExchangeDefender. These settings establish the bare minimum configuration you need to reliably send and receive email on the Internet and instruct ExchageDefender how to sort your email.
Security Policy Overview
Our goal with the Security Policy wizard is to save time while configuring the major aspects of ExchangeDefender. While you still have access to hundreds of policies and can always configure new custom ones (as business requirements demand) it’s nice to know you can quickly adjust the features and make sure they apply to everyone in the organization.
You’ll be able to teach ExchangeDefender how to categorize mail, how long to keep it, and how to report it. Basic SPAM, malware, phishing, and address enforcement policies can be configured in seconds.
We’ve also added some of the settings that are exclusive to ExchangeDefender (From: policy enforcement) and some that always give IT teams trouble (DNS, DKIM + SPF records). The goal was to present all the required and support-intensive features in a friendly way so you can protect your network without knowing the details of the latest standards and security best practices.
Default Security Policy will automatically display the first time you log in as a Domain Administrator. It will load your current settings into the policy and allow you to review it or apply it to all the users in the domain. All the settings are still in their normal places so you can fine-tune your protection and features (https://www.exchangedefender.com/docs >remember the docs).
We hope this new wizard saves you time and gives you peace of mind that your protection is configured correctly.
Trusted sender keeps on ending up in SPAM
One of the most common complaints we get from our clients has to do with allow/whitelist policies and to make the long story short this happens because of the way your service provider configured ExchangeDefender. The long story, technical background, and best practices are outlined at https://www.exchangedefender.com/docs/whitelist. It usually sounds like this:
“I keep whitelisting this email address that sends me my OTP password / password reminder / login code / transaction confirmation / newsletter and they keep on ending up in SPAM!”
This happens for clients that configure ExchangeDefender to block email forgeries and spoofing.
You see, the email address that is showing up in ExchangeDefender and your Outlook/Gmail is not the actual email address that the message was sent from. Large volume emails (OTP, password reminders, notifications) are not sent by humans, they are computer generated and there is a random email address for every notification they sent out (so when/if it bounces they can track it).
These automated email addresses tend to have a long randomly generated identifier in them and generally look like this:
010001890676a389-ee862f60-d7ea-4ba1-a113-f16935e2afeb-000000@amazonses.com
But in your Outlook/Gmail the spoofed/faked email appears to have come from DoNotReply@someotpsite.cz which has the domain you trust and attempt to allow/whitelist. If you pull up the SMTP headers from the quarantined email you can see this email address in the envelope-from field:
Received: from inbound10.exchangedefender.com (65.99.255.114) by
owa.exchangedefenderdemo.com (10.10.10.5) with Microsoft SMTP Server (TLS) id 14.3.498.0;
Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:23:03 -0400
Received-SPF: pass (inbound10.exchangedefender.com: domain of 010001890675c389-ee862f60-d7ea-4ba1-a113-f16935e2afeb-000000@amazonses.com designates 54.240.77.69 as permitted sender) receiver=inbound10.exchangedefender.com; client-ip=54.240.77.69; helo=a77-69.smtp-out.amazonses.com; envelope-from=010001890676a389-ee862f60-d7ea-4ba1-a113-f16935e2afeb-000000@amazonses.com; x-software=ExchangeDefender SPF;
Authentication-Results: inbound10.exchangedefender.com; dmarc=pass (p=quarantine dis=none) header.from=someotpsite.cz
Authentication-Results: inbound10.exchangedefender.com;
dkim=pass (1024-bit key) header.d=someotpsite.cz header.i=@someotpsite.cz header.b=”QPv3HP79″;
dkim=pass (1024-bit key) header.d=amazonses.com header.i=@amazonses.com header.b=”MsX8RGl7″
Received: from a77-69.smtp-out.amazonses.com (a77-69.smtp-out.amazonses.com
[54.240.77.69]) by inbound10.exchangedefender.com (8.14.7/8.14.7) with ESMTP
id 35T9M86a030204
<demo@exchangedefenderdemo.com>; Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:22:09 -0400
From: <DoNotReply@someotpsite.cz>
To: <demo@exchangedefenderdemo.com>
Subject: ConnectWise Manage Security Code
…
Solving this issue requires your ExchangeDefender admin to decide how permissive they want to be of email forgeries and fakes. ExchangeDefender provides two ways to manage this in the ExchangeDefender Domain Admin app at https://admin.exchangedefender.com (see documentation)
Option 1: Allow email from the bulk email network
ExchangeDefender enables you to automatically pass through messages coming from specific bulk/spam mail providers. It’s located at https://admin.exchangedefender.com under Advanced Features > Bulk Mailer Policy:
In our example SMTP header the message came from AmazonSES so if you change the policy from Scan to Allow, ExchangeDefender will simply deliver these messages to your mailbox without quarantining it as a forgery/spoof (which it is).
Option 2: Choose a relaxed From: policy
This is a less secure option that will allow forgeries and effectively lowers your security level to that of M365/Office365 – and we strongly discourage you from doing that. However, if the client requires it you can get it done under Advanced Features > From: Policy:
Summary
If you’re seeing notification emails in your SPAM quarantine even though you’ve trusted the sender repeatedly, it’s doing so because the message is being spoofed and your admin has configured ExchangeDefender to block that activity. You can relax the security restrictions by choosing to either allow the bulk mail network or you can build your trust rules on the less-secure From: address.
Our team is always here to help but they aren’t allowed to guess without seeing the SMTP headers first – so if you ever run into an issue that you’d like us to take a look at grab the headers and provide them at https://support.exchangedefender.com and we’ll advise from there.
Passwordless Login – Lower support, better profits
ExchangeDefender Passwordless Login is a new feature that lets users get into their ExchangeDefender account easier and faster. Instead of logging in and tracking passwords, the user just enters their email address and the OTP code we send there – and they get access to all their ExchangeDefender services.
The Passwordless Login feature will drive down the support costs because that was the major issue our clients found in supporting login and authentication problems. We even joked that you may have answered your last login problem email. We now have more data and feedback indicating that this feature is a hit:
In practical terms, wider adoption of this feature means less support work for login and authentication. The fact that it’s more popular than password reset on launch means the users have already seen this feature elsewhere and trust it as a secure way to get into their account.
We’ve also heard from our technical and compliance audience: “It allowed us to finally take you up on an automated password expiration knowing that it will keep our passwords secure and users wouldn’t notice.“
The value we provide to our clients is in the ability to securely email, send secure encrypted messages, and continue emailing when there are IT issues. By making it easier for our users to get to these features everyone benefits.
Thank you for your business and for trusting us to protect your email.
ExchangeDefender Goes Passwordless for Admin Login: Zero Issues, Skyrocketing Adoption Rate!
ExchangeDefender launched Passwordless Logins and we’re happy to report that there have been zero issues and the adoption rate is already through the roof. Unsurprisingly, login/password/security management was identified as the #3 biggest support issue in our town hall meetings with service providers.
As a part of our 2023 initiative to build the best email security platform, we’ve been looking at innovations in the software industry outside of the security space. Launching an authenticated session by sending an OTP code via email and SMS has quickly become a popular authentication method at primary online services. As a technical implementation, this is no different than a password reset link process we’ve used for decades – you click on a link, you’re emailed a secret token that authenticates you, your new session starts and that’s it.
It’s just a lot more user-friendly and allows the user to tap through instead of sifting through applications and tracking credentials. Passwordless login will significantly lower your support costs — today may be the last ticket about a login or password problem!
Of course, we strongly recommend rolling out MFA on every ExchangeDefender account. The other change we’ve made in 2023 is a move to a role-based administration in ExchangeDefender: instead of sharing a domain or sp login you’ll grant users in your org access to domain or sp admin (see www.exchangedefender.com/docs/sp) and they’ll be able to elevate privileges as necessary.
Thank you for embracing all the cool new stuff we build to make your day online safer. Our goal this year is to make secure services convenient and passwordless login is a part of that commitment.
Unlock Your Admin Portal with Ease: Introducing Passwordless Login
On Thursday, May 18th, the login experience at ExchangeDefender will change. Everything still works the same way as before and the new features will not affect user login: you’ll still go to https://admin.exchangedefender.com and type in your email & password to log in.
Below the main login block, you will see the new Advanced Login block featuring Passwordless and Administrator login features.
Passwordless – Tap this if you forgot your password and don’t want to set a new one. We’ll email you a code (for account verification) and when you type it in you’re good for the next 30 days.
Administrator – Tap this to log in to the management console for ExchangeDefender – Domain Admin and Service Provider. It’s safer & smarter to use user->domain, and service provider escalation and this is a more convenient way for smaller organizations.
Social and app authenticator login buttons are on the bottom and we now support all the TOTP app authenticators and encourage you to lock your accounts down.
ExchangeDefender Passwordless Logins
ExchangeDefender is pleased to announce the addition of passwordless logins. This convenient authentication method has become an industry standard and we’re implementing it at the request of many of our clients.
The problem: “I don’t know what it is, I don’t know what my password is!” OK. Reset password. Wait for the email. Pick a new password. A more complex password. One that you’ll forget as soon as you log in. We’ve all been there.
In our May update, you will see another login option under the default sign-in, allowing you to sign in with email. It’s as simple as it sounds, type in your email address and we’ll email you a magic link (with an OTP code) that you can use to log in to your account without your password. It’s that simple.
The session will stay logged in for a month so as long as you’re on the same computer/mobile you won’t have to worry about tracking passwords with ExchangeDefender.
PS. This means anyone with access to your mailbox will have access to ExchangeDefender as well – so for those of you that value security over convenience we’ve also added a domain-level policy that can disable this feature.
We should talk…
ExchangeDefender is aggressively adding features and growing the security footprint and we understand that IT staff is already spread thin enough – so if you’re tight on time or security expertise we are able to help by reviewing, applying, and configuring your mail flow so users get fewer interruptions while getting the latest and best-tuned security service for email.