Prevent Business Email Compromise (BEC) With These Security Solutions

Subpar email security tools can do more harm than good. False positives and missed phishing messages can weaken defenses. To defend against social engineering attacks, you need the best email security solutions for preventing business email compromise (BEC).

What Business Email Compromise Is and How It Works

BEC involves an adversary assuming the digital identity of a trusted person to trick employees, vendors or contractors into divulging sensitive information or transferring money. They target both new hires and senior leaders. 

There are several types. In an account compromise attack, the attacker uses a compromised employee account as a vehicle for phishing. 

Impersonation attacks are similar. Attackers often pose as someone with authority to manipulate others. CEO fraud is a specific type of impersonation where the perpetrator pretends to be the company’s highest-ranking executive. They may make urgent requests for large wire transfers.

In the fake invoice scam, the adversary poses as a vendor and requests payment for services. Even if the bill is legitimate, the bank account details will be altered so the funds end up in the scammer’s account. 

According to a 2022 FBI Congressional Report, BEC is one of the fastest-growing, most financially devastating internet-enabled crimes. In 2021, it caused losses totaling over $2.4 billion, up from $360 million in 2016. 

What Is the Best Email Security Solution for Preventing Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

Here are the top email security solutions businesses can use to detect and prevent BEC.

1. Darktrace

The cloud-native, AI-powered software from Darktrace is the best email security solution for preventing BEC, which is why it’s used by over 10,000 customers in 110 countries. Its unique approach combines application programming interface (API) and journaling to eliminate latency, enabling teams to respond to threats up to 30 times faster.

It’s the only vendor named Customers’ Choice in the 2025 Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” report — recognition only given to those who receive exceptional ratings from real users on overall experience, service quality and product capabilities. 

Its context-aware, self-learning AI is one of its best features. The model provides complete security coverage. Compared to humans, it identifies novel threats nearly two weeks earlier, investigates security incidents 10 times faster and neutralizes attacks in seconds. Instead of training on information from thousands of other organizations, it learns from business-specific data. 

2. Proofpoint

Over 2.7 million companies trust Proofpoint for protection, including 83 of the Fortune 100. It stops 95 million BEC attacks annually. Its pricing, capabilities and customer base indicate it is best for large enterprises rather than small businesses. 

Unlike many of its competitors, it takes a human-centric approach to email security. It can analyze message attributes to detect BEC tactics, stopping malicious emails in their tracks. It can also identify impersonation, compromised accounts and frequently targeted users.  

In 2024, it was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Email Security Platforms. Also, it was the only vendor to be recognized as Customer’s Choice in the 2024 Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” report for Data Loss and Prevention and Insider Risk Management.

3. Fortinet

While Fortinet’s platform is designed for cloud-based email services, it also works with hybrid and on-premises services. FortiMail Workspace Security — formerly Perception Point — is an AI-powered security tool for emails, browsers and cloud-based apps. 

It features machine-learning-based anomaly detection, dynamic content analysis and attachment scanning to stop threats from reaching users. Many of these capabilities are powered by other Fortinet solutions, so you receive end-to-end protection. 

The FortiMail Workspace Security suite subscription includes a fully managed, around-the-clock incident response service. A team of security analysts operates as an extension of your security operations center (SOC) for monitoring, analysis and triage. Outsourcing your workloads this way ensures continuous protection with zero operational overhead. 

4. Ironscales

In 2023, Ironscales launched a generative model built on its proprietary PhishLLM. In the years since, it has evolved into a self-learning email security platform. Themis is its agentic AI and virtual SOC. The AI tools learn from each encounter. Tens of thousands of these cyber analysts collectively conduct threat hunting, and they can automatically remediate 99.7% of dangers.  

The platform uses natural language processing, social graphs and behavioral pattern mapping to create a baseline. If it detects anomalies, it jumps into action. You can get this sophisticated system up and running within minutes, thanks to the three-click setup and native API integration. 

5. Microsoft Defender

If you use Office 365, Microsoft Defender is an excellent choice for email security. It uses AI to contain BEC attacks — the model automatically deactivates compromised users, isolates affected devices and removes emails poisoned after delivery. The company has heavily leveraged machine learning to help security professionals respond to threats more effectively.

Its tools continuously analyze email content to detect subtle anomalies, such as a sudden request for an unusually large wire transfer. Other notable features include Safe Links, which scans URLs to block phishing websites, and Zero-Hour Auto Purge, which retroactively neutralizes spam in cloud mailboxes. 

Choosing Between the Top 5 Email Security Solutions

The best email security solutions for preventing BEC all have spam filtering, impersonation detection and behavioral analysis features to mitigate social engineering attacks. However, their AI features, certifications and pricing differ significantly. 

Which of These Tools Aligns Best With Your Business?

Many information security professionals are juggling allowlists, blocklists, quarantine, threat hunting and incident response duties. The growing number of obscure and complex cyberthreats adds to their ever-growing workload. Luckily, with the best email security solutions, companies can prevent BEC.