What is malspam? Key characteristics, examples, and how to stop it

Malspam, short for malicious spam, is a form of unsolicited bulk email designed to deliver malware, rather than mere advertising or manipulation. It exploits social engineering to trick recipients into interacting with malicious attachments or links, often disguised as routine business communications like invoices or shipping notices. This email threat can lead to system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment and is a common precursor to larger attacks. Malspam relies on blending into regular email traffic, making it difficult to detect without deeper inspection. Organizations can defend against malspam with a combination of user education, technical controls, and rapid incident response. Sublime Security aids in this defense by providing tools for behavioral detection and transparent analysis, enabling security teams to quickly identify and block malicious emails.