Free Trials
FREE TRIALS

Vircom SOLUTIONS

How to Prevent
Account Takeover (ATO)

GET A DEMO

Understanding Account Takeover and Its Risks

Account Takeover (ATO) is a growing threat where cybercriminals gain unauthorized access to accounts, causing financial losses, data breaches, and reputational damage. Attackers use various tactics like phishing, credential stuffing, and malware to exploit vulnerabilities and gain control. Understanding the risks associated with ATO is essential for protecting sensitive information and maintaining customer trust.

Why Account Takeover (ATO) is a Serious Cybersecurity Threat

Account Takeover (ATO) poses significant risks, allowing cybercriminals to impersonate users, steal sensitive data, and execute fraudulent transactions.

These attacks typically start with unnoticed entry points, followed by the establishment of mechanisms like unauthorized multi-factor authentication to maintain access.

Once inside, attackers gather intelligence, paving the way for more complex attacks like Business Email Compromise (BEC). For example, they may use stolen invoice details to initiate a highly targeted BEC attack.

Preventing ATO proactively is essential to protect your organization’s integrity, maintain compliance, and uphold stakeholder trust.

Account Takeovers in SMBs

Account takeover attacks are surging among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the USA, with severe consequences. Statistics show that the average cost of an ATO incident for SMBs exceeds $200,000, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced security measures to protect against these costly attacks.

$200M+

Economic Impact

The average cost of an account takeover for SMBs is over $200,000, factoring in losses, downtime, and recovery.
Source: Ponemon Institute

82%

of SMBs hit by ATO

Gartner estimates that IT downtime costs organizations, on average, $5,600 per minute.
Source: Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report

ATO attacks jumped

345% YoY

ATO attacks rose 354% YoY, with fintech up 808% and food & beverage up 485%.
Source: Sift, 2023 GlobalNewsWire

Vircom's Solutions to Prevent Account Takeover

Advanced Email Security

Vircom offers Proofpoint Essentials’ advanced email security, serving as a critical first line of defense against Account Takeover attacks. This powerful solution effectively blocks phishing, spear-phishing, and social engineering attempts—primary tactics used by attackers to compromise accounts and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Utilizing machine learning and real-time threat intelligence, Proofpoint Essentials identifies and neutralizes these threats before they can reach your users, significantly reducing the risk of compromise.

It also scans URLs and attachments in real-time, blocking malicious links and files to prevent credential theft, ensuring your data remains secure.

Domain Authentication Solutions

OnDMARC fortifies your email domain by implementing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM protocols, which authenticate senders and prevent spoofing, phishing, and impersonation—common tactics used in ATO attacks.

OnDMARC provides detailed reporting and insights, helping organizations quickly identify and remediate any unauthorized use of their domains.

This solution secures your email communications, enhances trust, and provides a robust layer of defense against evolving ATO threats.

User Awareness Training and ATO

Our comprehensive security awareness training is a critical tool in preventing Account Takeover (ATO) by empowering your employees with the knowledge and skills they need to recognize and respond to potential threats.

This training educates users about the most common ATO tactics, such as phishing, credential stuffing, and social engineering, which are often the initial steps cybercriminals use to gain access to sensitive accounts.

By understanding how these attacks work, employees can better identify suspicious emails, avoid clicking on malicious links, and recognize when they are being targeted by social engineering attempts.

Office 365 Account Takeover Detection

Prevention solutions are an important piece of the puzzle. Other equally important pieces are detection and response solutions.

Vircom Portal’s continuous monitoring seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, enhancing security by detecting threats faster and helping to remediate before impact.

Real-time machine learning analysis allows for quick detection of unusual login patterns, location anomalies, or unauthorized access attempts, which are common indicators of ATO.

Proactive alerts notify security teams of suspicious activities as they happen with guidance or tools for remediation enabling immediate response before the threat escalates.

How MSPs Can Protect Their Clients from Account Takeover

Centralized Management for Multi-Tenant Environments

Manage multiple client environments from a single, intuitive dashboard, making it easier to monitor for ATO attempts and apply consistent security policies across all accounts.

Advanced Threat Protection & AI

Proofpoint Essentials blocks phishing, spear-phishing, and social engineering attacks—the primary vectors for ATO.
With machine learning and real-time threat intelligence, it identifies and quarantines suspicious emails before they reach users.

Threat Remediation

Leverage our automated tools to quickly identify and neutralize account takeover threats, minimizing the damage caused by compromised credentials.

Customizable Security Protocols

Tailor security settings to each client's specific needs, including display name impersonation, login behavior monitoring, and proactive alerts for other suspicious activities.

MFA Monitoring for Account Security

One of the simplest but most effective ways to prevent ATO is to improve account security by enabling Multi-Factor Authentication on all accounts. Any account with elevated security should also have a more secure form of MFA, as not all MFA mechanisms provide the same level of security.

Client Education & Awareness

Provide clients with regular training sessions and resources on ATO risks and prevention strategies, ensuring that end-users are always vigilant and informed.

ROBUST PROTECTION BUNDLES

Protect your business

with Vircom's comprehensive security bundles.

EXPLORE

Protect Your Organization from ATO with Vircom

Account Takeover attacks are an ever-evolving threat that can have severe consequences for any business. With Vircom’s comprehensive suite of security solutions, including advanced email security, email authentication, domain protection, continuous monitoring, and tailored training, you can effectively safeguard your organization and clients. Our proactive approach not only stops ATO attacks in their tracks but also empowers your team to act as a critical part of your defense strategy. Trust Vircom to protect your accounts, data, and reputation against the growing risk of ATO. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help secure your organization.
“Vircom’s solutions are an integral component of our cybersecurity defense. Their continued product enhancements and overall effectiveness combined with staff sense of urgency and follow up are one of the reasons Vircom is one of our longest running partners.”
James M. Schindler, VP of Technology CLEARY BUILDING CORP

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you defend against Account Takeover.

GET QUICK DEMO
Youtube X-twitter

Products

Solutions by Threat

Solutions by Use Case

Partners

Company

Youtube

Products

Solutions by Threat

Solutions by Use Case

Partners

Company

Vircom © 2025 | All Rights Reserved
Scroll to Top