ipfour
Close-up of a laptop screen showing email inbox with security warning indicators and phishing detection alerts
Email Security

Email is the number one attack vector. Treat it that way.

Over 90% of cyberattacks start with an email. Microsoft 365 default protection is not enough. IP Four layers advanced filtering, impersonation protection, and staff training to close the gap.

Microsoft 365 Compatible
GDPR Compliant Archiving
Phishing Simulation Included
What We Deliver

Protection that goes beyond the default settings.

We combine technology and training to address every dimension of email-based risk. From the technical controls to the human element.

Advanced Email Filtering

Multi-layer filtering that stops spam, malware, and phishing before they reach your inbox. Far beyond what Microsoft 365 default protection provides.

Anti-Phishing and Impersonation Protection

AI-powered detection of business email compromise, CEO fraud, and supplier impersonation attacks. The threats that bypass traditional filters.

DMARC, DKIM and SPF Configuration

Proper email authentication setup that stops criminals spoofing your domain to attack your clients and suppliers. Protects your reputation as well as your inbox.

Phishing Simulation and Training

Regular simulated phishing campaigns that test your staff and provide targeted training to those who need it most. Measurable improvement over time.

Email Archiving and Continuity

Compliant email archiving with instant search and legal hold capabilities. Plus email continuity so your team can keep working even if Microsoft 365 goes down.

Data Loss Prevention

Policies that prevent sensitive data leaving your organisation via email. Credit card numbers, NI numbers, and confidential documents flagged and blocked automatically.

Real Results

How we have helped organisations across the UK.

Finance Team Targeted by BEC

A Preston construction firm had their finance team targeted by a business email compromise attack impersonating the MD requesting an urgent bank transfer.

Impersonation protection deployed. Attack pattern detected and blocked. Staff awareness training completed. No financial loss.

Legal Firm Compliance Requirement

A Lancashire solicitors practice needed to demonstrate email archiving and data loss prevention controls to their professional indemnity insurer.

Compliant archiving with 7-year retention deployed. DLP policies configured. Insurance requirement met. Premium reduced.

Domain Spoofing Attack

A Blackburn accountancy firm discovered criminals were sending emails to their clients pretending to be from their domain.

DMARC, DKIM, and SPF configured correctly within 48 hours. Spoofing attacks stopped. Client trust restored.

Ready to Start?

Find out how exposed your email really is.

Our free email security audit checks your DMARC configuration, tests your filtering, and identifies the gaps attackers would exploit. Takes 30 minutes and costs nothing.

We use these details only to respond to your enquiry. See our privacy notice.

In Detail

Email security in detail

Archiving and eDiscovery carry the commercial intent here.

Anti Phishing

Natural Language Processing Analysis

NLP models analyse the semantic content of every email, not just headers and metadata. Urgency language, unusual requests, emotional manipulation, and out-of-character phrasing are all detected and scored.

NLP AnalysisSemantic UnderstandingUrgency Detection

Communication Pattern Modelling

Normal communication patterns are modelled for every user and sender relationship in your organisation. Deviations from established patterns trigger additional scrutiny, catching attacks that look legitimate on the surface.

Pattern ModellingRelationship GraphsDeviation Detection

Real-Time Threat Scoring

Every inbound email receives a real-time threat score based on hundreds of behavioural signals. Scores are used to route emails to quarantine, flag for review, or deliver with a warning banner based on your policy.

Threat ScoringReal-Time AnalysisPolicy Routing

Continuous Model Learning

AI models learn continuously from new threats, analyst feedback, and global threat intelligence. The more emails processed, the more accurate detection becomes. Models improve automatically without manual intervention.

Continuous LearningAnalyst FeedbackGlobal Intelligence

Novel Attack Variant Detection

Attackers constantly modify their techniques to evade known signatures. Behavioural AI detects the underlying intent of an attack regardless of how the payload or message is modified between campaigns.

Novel VariantsIntent DetectionEvasion Resistance

Explainable AI Decision Reporting

Every detection decision is accompanied by a plain-English explanation of why the email was flagged. Security teams can review, override, and provide feedback that improves future model accuracy.

Explainable AIDecision TransparencyAnalyst Override

Office Document Detonation

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files are opened and executed in an isolated sandbox environment. Macro-based malware, embedded scripts, and exploit payloads are triggered and analysed before the file reaches any user.

Word DocumentsExcel MacrosPowerPoint Files

PDF and Archive Analysis

PDF files are rendered and analysed for embedded JavaScript, exploit code, and malicious links. ZIP, RAR, and other archive formats are unpacked and each contained file is individually sandboxed.

PDF AnalysisArchive UnpackingEmbedded Script Detection

Behavioural Execution Analysis

Files are not just scanned for known signatures. They are executed and their behaviour is monitored. Network connections, registry changes, file system modifications, and process spawning are all analysed.

Behavioural AnalysisExecution MonitoringNetwork Activity

Anti Spam

Organisation-Wide Allow Lists

Trusted senders and domains added to organisation-wide allow lists that bypass spam filtering. Critical business partners, payment processors, and regulatory bodies guaranteed delivery regardless of content scoring.

Trusted SendersDomain WhitelistingBypass Rules

Organisation-Wide Block Lists

Known bad actors, persistent spam sources, and unwanted senders blocked at the organisation level. Block list entries applied instantly across all users with no individual action required.

Sender BlockingDomain BlockingInstant Application

Per-User Allow and Block Lists

Individual users maintain personal allow and block lists through a self-service portal. Personal preferences respected within organisation-wide policy boundaries. No IT involvement required for routine management.

Personal ListsSelf-Service ManagementUser Autonomy

Department-Level List Management

Department-specific allow and block lists for teams with unique sender requirements. Finance teams can whitelist payment processors, legal teams can whitelist court systems, without affecting other departments.

Department ListsRole-Based ControlTargeted Policies

List Synchronisation and Audit

Allow and block lists synchronised across all filtering layers. Full audit trail of list changes with timestamps and responsible user. Regular list reviews to remove stale entries and maintain accuracy.

List SyncAudit TrailStale Entry Removal

List Effectiveness Reporting

Dashboards showing allow list bypass volumes, block list hit rates, and list growth trends. Identify which allow list entries are most used and which block list entries are catching the most traffic.

Bypass AnalyticsBlock Hit RatesList Growth Trends

Graymail Detection and Separation

Newsletters, marketing emails, and subscription content automatically identified and separated from genuine business correspondence. Staff see what matters without wading through inbox noise.

Graymail DetectionNewsletter SeparationInbox Focus

Bulk Email Classification

Automated classification of bulk email by type: newsletters, promotional content, transactional notifications, and social media alerts. Each category handled according to your policy.

Email ClassificationCategory PoliciesAutomated Sorting

Per-User Bulk Mail Preferences

Individual users control which bulk mail categories they receive, which are held for digest review, and which are blocked entirely. Preferences managed through a self-service portal.

User PreferencesSelf-Service PortalCategory Control

Dmarc

Domain Spoofing Prevention

DMARC reject policy prevents any email from being delivered that claims to come from your domain but fails authentication. Criminals cannot send emails pretending to be your business to your clients, suppliers, or staff.

Reject PolicySpoofing PreventionProtocol-Level Protection

Client and Supplier Protection

Your clients and suppliers are the primary targets of domain spoofing attacks. Fraudulent payment requests, fake invoices, and credential phishing emails sent in your name are stopped before they reach their inboxes.

Client ProtectionSupplier ProtectionInvoice Fraud Prevention

Email Reputation Management

Major mail providers including Google, Microsoft, and Apple use DMARC enforcement as a trust signal. Correct authentication improves your sender reputation score, increasing the likelihood that legitimate emails reach inboxes rather than spam folders.

Sender ReputationInbox PlacementProvider Trust Signals

BIMI Logo Display Enablement

Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) allows your company logo to appear next to emails in supported mail clients. DMARC enforcement at reject level is a prerequisite for BIMI. We configure DMARC as the foundation for BIMI deployment.

BIMI ReadyLogo DisplayVisual Brand Trust

Regulatory and Insurance Compliance

DMARC enforcement is increasingly required by cyber insurance providers and referenced in UK regulatory guidance. Correct implementation demonstrates due diligence in protecting your domain from being used in fraud against third parties.

Cyber InsuranceRegulatory ComplianceDue Diligence

Marketing Email Deliverability

Google and Yahoo now require DMARC for bulk email senders. Correct DMARC, SPF, and DKIM configuration ensures your marketing emails reach inboxes at major providers. Deliverability improvements typically visible within 2 to 4 weeks of correct implementation.

Bulk Email ComplianceGoogle RequirementsYahoo Requirements

DKIM Setup and Alignment UK - Cryptographic Email Signing

DKIM setup and alignment for UK businesses. Cryptographic signing for all email platforms and third-party services.

DKIM Key Generation and Publishing

Cryptographic key pairs generated for each sending domain and selector. Public keys published as DNS TXT records. Private keys configured in your mail platform. Correct key length and algorithm used for maximum compatibility.

Key GenerationDNS Publishing2048-bit Keys

Mail Platform DKIM Configuration

DKIM signing configured directly in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or your on-premise mail server. Signing policy applied to all outbound email. Verified against receiving mail servers before deployment is confirmed.

Microsoft 365Google WorkspaceOn-Premise Mail

Email Archiving

Full Text Search Across All Archived Email

Search every word in every email body, subject line, and attachment across your entire archive. Results returned in seconds regardless of archive size. No indexing delays, no waiting.

Full Text SearchInstant ResultsAttachment Search

Advanced Search Filters

Combine sender, recipient, date range, keyword, attachment type, and mailbox filters to pinpoint exactly the emails you need. Boolean operators and proximity search supported.

Boolean SearchDate Range FiltersMulti-Field Search

eDiscovery Case Management

Create eDiscovery cases to organise search results for legal proceedings. Tag, annotate, and export emails in formats accepted by UK courts and regulatory bodies.

Case ManagementLegal ExportAnnotation Tools

Legal Hold Integration

Place specific mailboxes, senders, or search result sets on legal hold directly from the search interface. Held emails cannot be deleted or modified until the hold is explicitly released.

Legal HoldHold from SearchRelease Controls

Bulk Export and Reporting

Export search results in PST, EML, PDF, or CSV format for legal review, regulatory submission, or internal investigation. Export logs maintained for chain of custody purposes.

PST ExportPDF ExportChain of Custody

Delegated Search Access

Grant legal teams, compliance officers, and HR personnel access to search specific mailboxes without IT involvement. Role-based access ensures each user can only search what they are authorised to see.

Delegated AccessRole-Based SearchSelf-Service

Sub-Second Search Results

Full text search across years of archived email returns results in under a second. No waiting, no queuing, no IT ticket required. Results available immediately for any authorised user.

Sub-Second ResultsNo IT TicketInstant Retrieval

Web and Mobile Access

Archive accessible via web browser on any device. Mobile-optimised interface for access on the go. Secure login with multi-factor authentication. No VPN required.

Web AccessMobile OptimisedMFA Secured

Role-Based Self-Service Access

Compliance officers, legal teams, HR, and managers given self-service access to the mailboxes they are authorised to search. No IT involvement required for routine archive queries.

Self-ServiceRole-Based AccessNo IT Dependency
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