Phishing - Protect your business in 5 easy steps.

Phishing is a type of cyber attack where attackers disguise themselves as a trustworthy entity to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card numbers.

Imagine arriving at work, opening your email, and seeing a message from what looks like your CEO. The email urgently requests you to review an attached document. Without thinking twice you open it and just like that you’ve fallen victim to a phishing attack. This scenario is all too common and highlights the critical need for businesses to educate their employees about phishing. In this blog post we’ll explore what phishing is, provide easy to understand examples and share steps to protect yourself or your business from this pervasive threat.

What is Phishing?  

Phishing is a type of cyber attack where attackers disguise themselves as a trustworthy entity to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card numbers. They often use email, social media or fraudulent websites to trick victims into providing this information.

Examples of Phishing  

Cyber criminals can be very creative when luring their victims into providing sensitive data. We have extracted 3 of the most commonly used tactics in phishing attacks:

1. Email Phishing: An employee receives an email that looks like it’s from their bank, asking them to verify their account information by clicking on a link. The link leads to a fake website that looks identical to the bank’s official site.
2. Spear Phishing: A more targeted form of phishing where the attacker customizes the email based on information about the victim. For instance, an employee might receive an email that appears to come from a colleague or boss, asking for confidential information.
3. Clone Phishing: The attacker duplicates a legitimate email that the victim has previously received, replaces the original link with a malicious one and sends it to the victim making it look like a regular communication.

Five Easy Steps to Protect Your Business  

1. Educate Your Employees  

Most people think that having an effective protection agains phishing attacks will cost a lot, but in reality all it takes for a phishing attack to be successful is extracting sensitive data. Arguably the best tool against phishing your business can have is your employees. Training can make them aware of how to spot, report and handle phishing so they don’t fall victims of such attacks.

• Regular Training: Conduct regular training sessions to educate employees on how to identify phishing attempts. We recommend you use relevant real world examples and then simulate phishing attacks to test their awareness.
• Informative Resources: Provide resources such as KnowBe4’s  phishing report and Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report  to keep employees informed about the latest phishing trends.

2. Implement Email Security  

Email is still one of the most used tools by attackers when delivering their phishing attacks. Here is what you can do to increase its security:

• Spam Filters: Use advanced spam filters to detect and block phishing emails before they reach your employees inboxes.
• Email Authentication: Implement protocols like SPF, DKIM and DMARC to verify the legitimacy of emails and reduce the chances of spoofing.

3. Encourage Vigilance and Reporting  

• Verification: Encourage employees to verify the authenticity of any unexpected or suspicious email by contacting the sender through a different communication channel.
• Reporting Mechanism: Set up an easy to use reporting system for employees to report phishing attempts. This helps in quickly identifying and mitigating potential threats.

4. Secure Your IT Infrastructure  

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for accessing sensitive information and systems. This adds an extra layer of security even if an attacker obtains login credentials.
• Regular Updates and Patches: Keep all software and systems up to date with the latest security patches to protect against vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit.
• Role Based Access Controls (RBAC): Use “least priviledge” approach and only allow data access to employees who really need it. You can read more on How to use RBAC in hromni.com and Understanding the role of access controls when protecting your data from our previous posts.

5. Foster a Security First Culture  

• Lead by Example: Ensure that leadership models good cybersecurity practices, reinforcing the importance of vigilance and proper protocol.
• Regular Communication: Keep cybersecurity at the forefront of all company communications. Share news, updates and tips on staying safe from phishing and other cyber threats.

Conclusion  

Phishing attacks are a significant threat to businesses, but with the right education and preventative measures you can protect your organization. Train your employees, implement robust email security, encourage vigilance, secure your IT infrastructure and foster a security first culture, and by doing so you will significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing scams. Stay informed, stay vigilant and keep your business safe.