Phone Alerts Because of Cyber Attacks Are Needed More Than Ever Before

Phone Alerts Because of Cyber Attacks Are Needed More Than Ever Before

by | Jul 24, 2024 | Emergency Alerts

Does it seem that Cyber Attacks are on the rise? This may be because the types of Cyber Attacks have increased.

Expanded Types of Attacks

Ransomware is not new and remains a major threat. However, the goals of the ransomware attack have broadened. The attackers may not be just after money, but also recognition for themselves or the destruction of the victim’s reputation. Ransomware attackers can use shame sites to publicly reveal who their victims are, turning ransomware into a broad weapon for cybercriminals.

Artificial Intelligence has also opened the door to more types of hacks. For instance Deepfakes, Disinformation campagns and Social Engineering.

We are also seeing an increase in hacks being used by activists. The cybercriminal can be driven by political or social issues  Hacking may also be used by governments as a way to attack adversary countries indirectly.

These new methods of Cyber Attacks throw a wide net. Your company may not even be aware that they are a target for these types of expanded hacks. But they can be caught up in political or adversarial causes that are completely off their risk charts.

Checkpoint has published its 2024 Cyber Security Report which goes well beyond Ransomware and other common hacks. The Main Highlights of their report are:

  • Ransomware Evolution: Explore major ransomware attacks exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, highlighting the economic considerations behind these attacks.
  • Expanding Attack Surface: Learn about the increased risk from edge devices, targeted by both nation-state APTs and sophisticated cybercriminals.
  • State-Affiliated Hacktivism and Wipers: Uncover the shift towards government-involved hacktivism, employing disruptive wipers for political motives.
  • Cloud’s Achilles Heel: Understand the challenges in token security, crucial for remote access and authentication in cloud environments.
  • Software Repositories Under Siege: Discover the rise in malicious software packages within open-source repositories, posing significant risks to software supply chains.
  • AI: The cutting-edge defender in today’s cybersecurity battle: In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer, revolutionizing the way we prevent, protect against, and respond to cyber threats.

As identified in the Checkpoint report, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in Cyber Attacks in 2024.

However, AI is also playing a key role in predicting threats before they happen or recognizing a threat before it becomes systemic. This may be another example of the answer being in the problem. ISC2 – the world’s leading nonprofit member organization for cybersecurity professionals, announced findings regarding AI from its latest study,

 AI in Cyber 2024: Is the Cybersecurity Profession Ready?, revealing the real-world impacts that artificial intelligence (AI) has had on cybersecurity. With responses from more than 1,100 cybersecurity professionals, 88% of respondents believe that AI will significantly impact their jobs, now or in the near future, and 35% have already witnessed its effects. While there is considerable positivity about the role of AI in dealing with cyberattacks, these findings also recognize the urgent demand from professionals for industry preparedness to mitigate cyber risks and safeguard the entire ecosystem.

Effective Alerts and Communications are Key

While the counter-offensive by cybersecurity professionals will prevail over the cyber-criminals, communications remain at the heart of success. Communications begin with critical alerts. Those alerts that get people’s attention are not emails. The communication mode that gets attention is still a ringing phone. Phone calls get people’s attention when you need them to act on a critical event. When you send an email, it just does not get the necessary level of attention for critical time-sensitive alerts.

How EmailToVoice.Net Works

All you have to do is subscribe to the EmailToVoice.Net service and then add an email destination to your alert monitoring service that looks something like 5551234567@tts.message-service.org

The recipient will receive a call on their phone. The text in the email is converted to a nice-sounding voice. If the recipient answers, they will hear the message right away. If they do not answer, the message will be left on their voicemail system. You can even leave a different message if the call goes to voice mail! There are many mission-critical features in the service, such as escalation lists, message parsing, and more. We also can convert the email content to an SMS message if required.

Let us know what your critical communication requirements are so we can provide you with assistance. Or just go ahead and subscribe to our service. Test us in a production environment for free – no credit card is required until you use your USD 5.00 free usage.

Escalation List Tips

Escalation List Tips

by | Jun 21, 2024 | Escalation Lists, How To, List Management

Our customers use Escalation Lists for many business-critical processes. So, we wanted to summarize some great tips on the workings of EmailToVoice.Net Escalation Lists.

Create the Escalation List

To summarize some high points when creating an escalation list:
  • Create a list in the Customer Portal / Manage Personal Lists
  • Make sure the list name is small letters and no special characters. So the name of the list should be just one small word, such as ‘alerts’
  • Check the box that says this is an escalation list
  • When you create the list, the calls will be in the order of the Reference field. So make the reference field unique and simple, such as ref1, ref2, ref3, etc.
  • You can have the same recipient’s phone number repeated in the list. Just remember to always have unique reference names.
  • If the name of the list is ‘alerts’ you can send a message to that escalation list that would have the TO field look something like:

What is a Received Call

 
Regarding what denotes a received call, the default is that the recipient must listen to the message for 10 seconds. So if the recipient just picks it up and hangs up right away or the call goes to voicemail, then the next person on the list is called. Otherwise, the calls stop.
 
The amount of time the call needs to be listened to can be changed in the Customer Portal / My Details. So if you want that amount of time to be reduced, you can change the default.
 
Change Defalult escalation pickup time
 

 

Conclusion

There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy delivery solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.

Author

 
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications. LinkedIn
 

 

Retaining the Forwarded Email Address When Forwarding an Email to a Phone

Retaining the Forwarded Email Address When Forwarding an Email to a Phone

by | Jun 19, 2024 | How To, Product Feature

Let’s talk about how a customer of EmailToVoice.Net forwards an email from an application or monitoring software as a voice phone call.

The Situation that Needs to be Solved

If the Monitoring Service sends the email from an email address that has the same domain as your company, or from an email that you have exclusive rights, then no problem. You can specify that email address in the Subscription form as a ‘Send Only’ Email address or contact us to add the Send-Only email address to your account. Then begin making phone calls from your application or monitoring service. In your application, you merely change the email recipient to something like 5551231234@tts.message-service.org. (Where 5551231234 is any phone number in the world. This number does not need to be preregistered.)

It is important to note that Emailtovoice.net requires that the Email message sent to EmailToVoice.Net be from your company email address. That means that the email address has the same domain as your company URL or your company has exclusive rights to the email address.

However, sometimes the application originating the message will send from its general-purpose email address. For instance, monitoring software will send an alert email from an email address within their own service domain. This is a problem because the email address must be unique to the EmailToVoice.Net customer so that usage can be applied approriately.

The X-Header Alternative

Now, there is a sophisticated alternative to solve the issue caused by an application or monitoring service sending the Email FROM a general-purpose email address, which is not exclusively owned by the Emailtovoice.net customer.

That alternative is to have a special code be entered into the x-Header of the email sent to EmailToVoice.Net. That code is then entered into the customer’s EmailToVoice.Net account profile. So, any message coming into EmailToVoice.Net with that unique code in the x-header will be assigned to the appropriate EmailToVoice.Net customer account.
The X-Header ID method of account identification disregards the FROM email address when the email arrives in EmailToVoice.Net.

X-Header Parameters

Using Microsoft Mail flow rule actions in Exchange Online, you can add a Header Name and a Header Value. For more info on this Mail flow rule actions in the Exchange Online feature:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/security-and-compliance/mail-flow-rules/mail-flow-rule-actions

Some common parameters are:

X-Header-ID

“X-Header-ID” is an alternate method of user identification. If a field called “X-Header-ID” is
found in the header of an email arriving at EmailToVoice.Net, the system searches for a user with a
matching “X-Header-ID” value setup in their user profile using that account to send the
message.

When this field is found, the sender’s email address is not used to identify the user account. Therefore, the FROM email address does not have to match the Customer’s URL or even be owned by the EmailToVoice.Net customer..

Note, for backward compatibility, equivalent email header fields are “X-EtoBcode”.

Additional account selection options

If you can not edit the email headers, and you are stuck with a fixed sender address, you can
also identify your account by adding “<EtoBcode>*my xheader id*</EtoBcode> to the start of
your email body.

The important issue is the FROM email address is from the customer’s domain, not the Monitoring Service domain. Or, if it is not possible to send the email to our service FROM an email address owned by your company, or, alter the X-Header of the email coming into our service, then the FROM email address must be owned exclusively by the customer.

The Gmail Alternative

If you need to use GMAIL, then to achieve the desired behavior where the forwarded email appears to come from `youremail@yourcompanydomain.com` and is addressed to `5551231234@tts.message-service.org’ or ‘list-alerts@tts.message-service.org’, you will need to Forward the email from an intermediate email address that is owned by your company. That email address will be the FROM email address as it enters our service.

Since Gmail’s standard forwarding feature retains the original sender’s address, you will need to use Google Apps Script.
(Outlook is simpler because Outlook retains the forwarding email address as the FROM email address. GMAIL does not. Gmail retains the Sending email address as the FROM email address)

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up an automatic forwarding system using Google Apps Script:

In this example, we use the List function rather than sending the message to 5551231234@tts.message-service.org. The reason we do this is because it would be easier for the customer to change the recipient phone number(s) in the Customer Portal / Personal Lists rather than changing the Google Apps Script.

### Using Google Apps Script for Custom Email Forwarding

1. **Access Google Apps Script:**
– Open your web browser and log in to your Gmail account. This Gmail account is the intermediate email address that is used for forwarding messages to our service.
We prefer if this email address has your company domain. However, you can use a free Gmail email address here as long as you attest that your company has exclusive rights to log in and access this email address.

This intermediate email address will be the Send-Only email address specified by us in your EmailToVoice.Net customer account. You either specify this email address in the Subscription Form or use the Contact Us form and request we add this email address to your customer account profile.

(`intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com`).
– Go to [Google Apps Script](https://script.google.com/).

2. **Create a New Project:**
– Click on the `New project` button.

3. **Write the Script:**
– Delete any code in the script editor and replace it with the following script:

“`javascript
++++++++++

 

function forwardEmails() {
var label = GmailApp.getUserLabelByName('ForwardThis');
if (!label) {
label = GmailApp.createLabel('ForwardThis');
}
var threads = label.getThreads();
for (var i = 0; i < threads.length; i++) {
var thread = threads[i];
var messages = thread.getMessages();
for (var j = 0; j < messages.length; j++) {
var message = messages[j];
var from = message.getFrom();
if (from.indexOf(‘generalemailaddress@monitoringsoftware.com') !== -1) {
var body = message.getBody()
var subject = message.getSubject();
var recipient = ‘list-alerts@tts.message-service.org';
GmailApp.sendEmail(recipient, subject, '', {htmlBody: body, from: ‘intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com’ });
message.moveToTrash(); // Optional: Move the original email to trash after forwarding
}
}
thread.removeLabel(label);
}
}

++++++++
“`

4. **Save the Script:**
– Click on `File` > `Save`, and give your project a name (e.g., `AutoForwardEmails`).

5. **Authorize the Script:**
– Click on the `Run` button (triangle icon) and authorize the script by following the prompts to grant the necessary permissions.

6. **Set Up a Trigger:**
– Click on the clock icon in the toolbar (Triggers).
– Click on `+ Add Trigger`.
– Set the function to `forwardEmails`, deploy to `Head`, and select a time-driven trigger (e.g., `Every 5 minutes` or `Hourly`).
– Save the trigger.

7. **Label Incoming Emails:**
– Go back to your Gmail inbox (`intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com `).
– Create a filter to automatically label incoming emails from `denis.oneil@olinkscorp.com`.
– Click on the search bar, then click on the `Show search options` icon.
– Enter ` generalemailaddress@monitoringsoftware.com’` in the `From` field.
– Click `Create filter`.
– Check the box `Apply the label` and choose `ForwardThis` (or create a new label if it doesn’t exist).
– Click `Create filter`.

### Explanation:

– **Google Apps Script**: The script checks for emails with the label `ForwardThis`, and if the email is from `generalemailaddress@monitoringsoftware.com’, it forwards it to `list-alerts@tts.message-service.org` with the `FROM` address set to `intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com`.
– **Triggers**: The script runs periodically (based on the trigger settings) to check for new emails to forward.

This setup should ensure that the forwarded emails appear as if they are sent from `intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com` to `list-alerts@tts.message-service.org`.

Remember that `intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com` must be set as the Send-Only email address in the EmailToVoice.Net customer account profile.

Updating the Gmail Alternative

If you need to change the Google Apps Script after it has been deployed in a production environment, you can follow these steps. We are not saying this is the only way or even the best way to change existing script code, but it is an alternative for changing the script code.

You can create a new project with a unique name and copy your script code into the new project. Then rename remove the old project.
Create a New Project:

o Go to Google Apps Script.
o Click on the New project button.

 

2. Copy the Script Code:

o In the new project, copy your existing script code from the old project.

3. Paste and Save the Code:

o Paste the copied code into the new project’s script editor.
o Click on File > Save and give your project a new name.

4. Set Up Triggers Again:

o Recreate any necessary triggers for the new project by following the steps to add triggers.

By following these steps, you should be able to edit and save your Google Apps Script successfully.
There may be a more dynamic method than deleting and renaming a project. Please investigate for yourself.

Outlook Email Alternative

Another solution to using Gmail is using an Outlook account. Again, Gmail does not retain the name of the forwarding email address as the FROM email address after the forwarding. Outlook does retain the email address of the forwarding email as the FROM email address.

Here’s a possible way you can set it up.

Setting Up Automatic Forwarding in Outlook

1. Log in to Your Outlook Account:

Access your Outlook account, such as ‘intermediateforwardemail@yourcompanydomain.com’

Set Up Email Forwarding:

Click on the gear icon (Settings) in the upper right corner.

Select “View all Outlook settings” at the bottom.

Navigate to “Mail” > “Forwarding”.

Check the box for “Enable forwarding”.

Enter the email address ‘list-alerts@tts.message-service.org’

Optionally, check the box for “Keep a copy of forwarded messages” if you want to retain a copy in the original mailbox.

Click “Save”

Create a Rule for Specific Sender:

Go to “Mail” > “Rules”.

Click on “Add new rule”.

Give your rule a name (e.g., “Forward alert Emails to Phones”).

Under “Add a condition”, select “From” and enter ‘generalemailaddress@monitoringsoftware.com’

Under “Add an action”, select “Forward to” and enter ‘list-alerts@tts.message-service.org’

Click “Save”

Advantages of Using Outlook

By using Outlook, you can achieve the desired email forwarding behavior more effectively than with Gmail’s standard forwarding features. When emails are forwarded from an Outlook account, the FROM address will be the Outlook account, not the original sender’s address.

Conclusion

In all cases, please do your investigation of these alternatives. We at EmailToVoice.Net are not experts in email forwarding and new features from different providers can be added at any time. We specialize in converting email content into a nice-sounding voice in many dialects or into an SMS or rich text secure message via SMS.

Test all changes before going into production. And then consider setting limits so that if there is a problem with your code, the impact is limited.

Please contact us to learn more about how we can assist you in your mission-critical business communications needs.

How to use X-Header in EmailToVoice.Net for Account Identification

How to use X-Header in EmailToVoice.Net for Account Identification

by | Jun 19, 2024 | How To, Product Feature

It is important to note that Emailtovoice.net requires that the email message sent to EmailToVoice.Net be from your company email address. That means that the email address must have the same domain as your company URL or your company has exclusive rights to the email address.

However, sometimes the application originating the message will send from its own general-purpose email address.

For instance, monitoring software will send an alert email from an email address within their own service domain. The customer wants to get that alert message as a phone message instead of an email. So, we convert the content of the Email into a nice-sounding voice, dial the phone number of the customer’s recipient who needs to hear the message, etc. An example of the recipient’s TO field would be something like: 5551231234@tts.message-service.org or list-alerts@tts.message-service.org.

Now, there is a sophisticated alternative to solve the issue that an application or service is sending the Email FROM a general-purpose email address not exclusively owned by the Emailtovoice.net customer.

X-HEADER PARAMETERS

X-headers are email headers that are added to the email in addition to the standard headers, such as the To, From, and Subject, according to the specific needs of the sender.  

Using Microsoft Mail flow rule actions in Exchange Online you can add a Header Name and a Header Value. For more info on this Mail flow rule actions in the Exchange Online feature:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/security-and-compliance/mail-flow-rules/mail-flow-rule-actions

This means you would not need to change the FROM address. You can set up a rule to add a header to any message received from a general address.

  • For the message header Name, set this as: X-Header-ID.
  • For the Header value: insert a random string of your choice. Add this random string in the Customer Portal / My Details for the customer account.

This enables processing email to TTS via any FROM Email address as long as it gets to @nnn.message-service.org, and we use this embedded identifier to authorize and route the message through the appropriate customer account.

For those interfacing with the Email ToVoice.Net programmatically, several parameters can be included in the email header fields. These are:

X-Header-ID

“X-Header-ID” is an alternate method of user identification. If a field called “X-Header-ID” is
found in the header of an email to broadcast request, the system searches for a user with a
matching the “X-Header-ID” value setup in their user profile, and using that account to send the
message.

If this field is found then the sender’s email address is not used to identify the user account.

X-ReportTo

If an “X-Header-ID” field exists, then an additional field “X-ReportTo” can be added to the email
header. This should consist of a valid email address, and if this is found, then job reports are
sent to this address instead of the address linked to the user’s Account. This allows multiple
users to send jobs and receive job reports through a single account.

X-EtoB-PW

For accounts set with embedded password authentication, the password can be sent in an “X-
EtoB-PW” header field instead of in the body of the message.

X-Receiver

In the special case where the “TO” address is not a standard xxx@nnn.message-service.org
format address, as can be the case when a Mailing List is used to send emails to Broadcast
requests, then the system will check for one or more “X-Receiver” header fields for appropriate
xxx@nnn.message-service.org addresses, and use these to get the destination addresses.

Additional account selection options

If you can not edit the email headers, and you are stuck with a fixed sender address, you can
also identify your account by adding “<EtoBcode>*my xheader id*</EtoBcode> to the start of
your email body.

If we can assist you further, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Simplifying Business Communications with EmailToVoice API

Simplifying Business Communications with EmailToVoice API

by | May 25, 2024 | API

In today’s fast-paced business environment, effective communication is key for business efficiency. Whether you’re coordinating with team members, reaching out to customers, or managing client relationships, having a reliable communication tool is crucial. This is where the EmailToVoice.net API helps your business handle its communication needs. With its simple yet powerful features, Email to Voice’s API offers a seamless solution for integrating voice and text messaging into your existing workflows. Let’s dive into how this tool can transform your business communications.

Streamlined Integration

One of the standout features of the Email to Voice API is its simplicity. Integrating voice and text messaging capabilities into your existing systems has never been easier. Whether you’re using CRM software, monitoring software, or customer service platforms, the API can be seamlessly integrated to enhance your communication processes. The straightforward setup ensures that even those with minimal technical expertise can get started quickly, allowing you to focus on what matters most – your business.

Versatility in Communication

The Email to Voice API is designed to cater to a wide range of communication needs. From sending voice messages to customers to dispatching important alerts via text, the API offers versatile functionality that can be customized to suit your specific requirements. This flexibility ensures that you can use the tool in various scenarios, whether it’s for marketing campaigns, customer support, or internal communications.

Enhancing Customer Engagement

In today’s competitive market, maintaining strong customer relationships is vital. The Email to Voice API allows businesses to engage with customers in a more personal and direct manner. By sending voice messages, you can convey a human touch that text messages alone can’t provide. This can be particularly effective for customer service. Additionally, the ability to send timely updates and notifications ensures that your customers are always informed, enhancing their overall experience with your brand.

Improved Operational Efficiency

Efficiency is crucial in any business operation. The Email to Voice API helps streamline communication processes, reducing the time and effort required to manage multiple communication channels. By automating routine tasks such as appointment reminders, order confirmations, and status updates, businesses can free up valuable time for their teams to focus on more strategic activities. This not only boosts productivity but also ensures that important messages are delivered promptly and accurately.

Cost-Effective Solution

Cost is always a consideration when adopting new technologies. The Email to Voice API offers a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to enhance their communication capabilities. By leveraging existing email infrastructure, the API eliminates the need for expensive hardware or software investments. This makes it an ideal choice for businesses that need a powerful business communications tool without a material impact on the budget.

Robust Security Features

The platform is designed with robust security measures to ensure that your communications are protected. From secure data transmission to stringent access controls, you can trust that your information and that of your customers are safe. This peace of mind is essential for businesses handling sensitive data and helps build trust with your clients.

Easy Customization and Scalability

Every business has unique communication needs, and the Email to Voice API is built with this in mind. The API offers easy customization options, allowing you to tailor its features to meet your specific requirements. Whether you need to set up specific windows of time for message delivery, define escalation lists, or integrate with other business tools, the flexibility of the API ensures that it can adapt to your needs. Additionally, as your business grows, the API can scale with you, providing the same level of reliability and performance as your communication demands increase.

User-Friendly Documentation and Support

Getting started with the Email to Voice API is made even easier with comprehensive documentation and support. The detailed guides provided ensure that you can quickly understand how to implement and use the API effectively. Furthermore, if you encounter any issues or have specific questions, the support team is readily available to assist you. This level of support ensures a smooth onboarding process and helps you get the most out of the API’s capabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the EmailToVoice.net API offers a powerful and versatile solution for businesses looking to enhance their communication strategies. Its simplicity, versatility, and cost-effectiveness make it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes. By integrating this tool into your business workflows, you can improve customer engagement, boost operational efficiency, and ensure secure and reliable communication. Explore the potential of the Email to Voice API today and take your business communications to the next level.