Most organizations running Microsoft 365 rely on native email controls as their primary line of defense. According to Mimecast research, 38% of organizations depend exclusively on those native controls for collaboration security, and 64% say those controls are insufficient against the threat landscape.
Ranjan Singh, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Mimecast, outlines how the company’s API-based approach delivers protection on par with a traditional Secure Email Gateway without requiring infrastructure changes, and why that matters for stretched security teams trying to close detection gaps on BEC and credential phishing.
Closing the gap between deployment speed and protection depth
Organizations have long treated deployment speed and protection depth as competing priorities, accepting weaker email protection in exchange for faster rollout. Singh said that tradeoff is no longer necessary.
Mimecast’s API-based solution connects directly into Microsoft 365 environments and begins protecting messages within minutes, with no MX record changes or mail flow disruptions required. The detection engines running through the API are the same ones that power Mimecast’s gateway product, covering deep URL inspection, malware sandboxing, behavioral AI, and advanced BEC detection. “Security teams get real-time visibility into threats that slipped past first-line defenses,” Singh said, “and the deployment path, whether API or SEG, is determined by infrastructure needs, not by what the technology can deliver.”
Where ICES point solutions fall short
Integrated Cloud Email Security vendors typically sit on top of native controls and inherit the blind spots those controls carry. Mimecast’s architecture takes a different approach, built on nearly 25 years of enterprise email security experience, detection engines trained across trillions of data points, and threat intelligence drawn from 42,000 customers globally.
Singh said the differentiation lies in the intelligence behind the architecture. The solution applies multi-vector threat protection, analyzing sender authentication, domain reputation, URLs, and content simultaneously, delivering what Singh described as “consistent, high-efficacy protection without fragmented detection layers.”
Catching what traditional tools miss on BEC and credential phishing
BEC and credential phishing have evolved specifically to evade tools built for an earlier threat environment. Singh said Mimecast’s detection data shows the system catches three times more BEC and credential phishing attacks than traditional methods, which translates directly into fewer high-risk alerts reaching analysts and less remediation burden.
When a threat is identified, automated response acts without waiting on human intervention. It pulls back malicious emails from every affected inbox, blocks compromised URLs, and quarantines suspicious attachments. “The shift from firefighting to proactive posture is where our customers see the most meaningful operational impact,” Singh said.
Human risk signals beyond the inbox
Email is the entry point into an organization, but Singh said human behavior is the real attack surface. Mimecast extends beyond inbox protection through its Human Risk Command Center, which connects email threat signals with user behavior, identity data, insider risk indicators, and generative AI activity.
That includes surfacing when users are granting excessive permissions to AI agents, sharing sensitive data through AI-assisted tools, or exhibiting behavioral patterns that indicate compromise. By correlating those signals, the platform enables organizations to identify compromised, negligent, and malicious users before damage occurs. Singh said point solutions operating in isolation cannot provide that level of context, and the Human Risk Command Center delivers a unified risk view that aligns security, legal, and compliance teams around a shared picture of organizational exposure.
Validating results before committing
Because the API deployment does not disrupt existing mail flow, security teams can run Mimecast alongside current tools, observe effectiveness in real time, and measure return on investment before making any long-term commitment. Organizations begin scanning for threats that slipped past existing defenses immediately after connection, surfacing gaps in native controls that were previously invisible.
Singh said that structure provides faster time to value, minimal operational friction, and a data-driven case for stronger email security. Mimecast offers a proof-of-value program for organizations that want to see what is slipping through their current defenses.
