Phishing is still a very successful way that cyber criminals are using to gain access to your computer and credentials. We can learn a lot from the attacks of 2018. It will not only help us understand what criminals are looking for, but how we can prepare ourselves for future attacks in 2019.
With a Growth in Email Compromises in 2018, fake email scams had a 60% increase.Criminals were mostly aimed at stealing money or tax data reported the FBI. Usually a typical phishing attack will start with criminals doing research into a target organization to find key contacts, their job responsibilities, and who they report to. They will start with a fake emails to targeted individuals. They usually impersonate a trusted individual in order to get the recipient that will open, read, and take action on it. Once they have gained trust, they will try and get the targeted individual to download a file containing malware, or click on a malicious site that asks for their user credentials. With that information, the attacker can access their email account and have access to anyone in their company.
Here are 3 ways you can protect yourself from cyber criminals:
- Set Up Email Authentication – This should be your fist line of defense. When you have this added layer of protection, it makes sure that authorized users are the only ones that can use your domain to send emails. This protects not only your employees, but your brand as well.
- Make sure you have an effective secure email gateway. This will stop inbound messages with suspicious content that can contain malware or malicious links.
- Schedule end user training with your employees – Train your employees so they can be educated on what phishing looks like and how they can protect themselves from future attacks. Make sure you hold training often so you can educate on the latest breaches and attacks.
Knowledge is power when it comes to phishing scams. The more you know, the more equipped you will be at protecting your business from cyber criminals.