Are you aware that the majority of ransomware attacks are due to phishing? This makes your team the weakest link in regards to your cybersecurity. It follows that the best way to protect your data is to train your team. Take a moment to learn how Phishline can give your team the training they need.
Your Inbox is a Threat to Your Cybersecurity
91 percent of cyberattacks start with an email. This means that every time spam enters your team’s inbox, you risk a cybercriminal gaining access to your business’ data. Your team needs the ability to recognize and prevent a phishing attack because the majority of the time, your team will be the target.
In reality, the concept of the lone hoodie-wearing hacker sitting in a cafe and brute-forcing their way into your systems is the stuff of melodrama. Unfortunately, in response to this myth, many businesses focus most of their resources on hardware and software (which is essential) to prevent cyberattacks. However, in doing so, they often neglect their most crucial asset, their team. As it turns out, you need to cover all ends.
Your Team is Your Greatest Cybersecurity Risk
Bad actors use phishing to gain access to your data because it has a track record of success, and it is easier to be let in than to break in. Chances are, if you’re like most businesses, you have some form of hardware or software-based cybersecurity protections in place, such as a firewall or antivirus software. While their level of effectiveness is subject to their level of sophistication and how well they are managed, cybercriminals understand that it will take at least some effort to break through them.
If these safeguards are kept updated and monitored, your business has an excellent possibility to resist a brute force cyberattack, at least initially. Yes, attackers could spend the time and resources trying to break through your firewall. However, they would rather not have to invest the resources to do so. This is where your team and their susceptibility to phishing comes into play. Cybercriminals use phishing to fool your team into opening the ‘door’ to your network, as opposed to having to break through it.
How Your Team is Targeted: Phishing
While phishing is the tactic, the overall strategy is known as social engineering. Social engineering is designed to take advantage of how humans react to certain stressful situations and manipulate your team into sharing sensitive information. Social engineering uses email, texts, and even ‘old school’ phone calls to create a sense of urgency, curiosity, or even fear to convince the target to expose sensitive information. Most of us commonly refer to many social engineering attacks as scams, which is pretty accurate.
Some examples of social engineering via phishing include:
Deceptive Phishing: This is the most common type of phishing attack. It comes from a recognizable sender requesting your credentials to solve a problem. For example, an email from a cybercriminal posing as Paypal requesting you verify your password or your account will be locked is a form of deceptive phishing. Deceptive phishing relies on threats or urgency to coerce the target to provide critical information.
Spear Phishing: Spear phishing goes one step further and personalizes the phishing attack, increasing the likelihood it will be opened and acted upon. The email would contain the target’s name, title, phone number, and other personal information. Spear phishing is more effective than deceptive phishing due to the high level of personalization, encouraging the target to lower their guard.
CEO Fraud, AKA Whale Phishing: As the name suggests, Whale phishing is designed to catch the “big one,” C-level executives who often have unfettered access to critical information and resources. One goal, for example, could be to convince the manager of a financial institution to initiate a wire transfer of funds to a fraudulent account.
Unlike other forms of phishing, Whale phishing doesn’t rely on casting a wide net, hoping to catch low-hanging fruit. It opts instead to target specific high-level employees by utilizing sophisticated communications designed to bypass the safeguards executives would have in place to limit their exposure. Whale phishers will go as far as using the compromised email accounts of the target’s vendor to bolster the illusion of the phishing email’s authenticity.
Due to phishing, your team will be the primary weakness in your cybersecurity plans, but it doesn’t have to be this way. With training, you can turn your team from a cybersecurity liability into an asset, making them an integral part of your cybersecurity protection protocols.
Give Your Team the Skills They Need to Spot a Phishing Attack
Don’t leave your organization’s cybersecurity to chance. Our Phishline service offers a comprehensive security awareness training environment, sure to give your team the knowledge they need to recognize a phishing attempt.
Phishline combines real-world multivariable testing with interactive campaigns creating impactful educational experiences for your team. This will provide your team the type of memorable learning experiences they will draw upon and implement whenever they come upon a suspicious email.
Some features Phishline brings your business include:
- Tracking and analyzing which type of links your team is clicking on, allowing you to gain insight into the kind of threats your team may need additional training to recognize as dangerous.
- Implementing monthly testing/training campaigns, allowing you to collect historical data to track, benchmark, and predict your team’s behavior.
- Providing regular reports and giving you insight into your team’s performance and areas for improvement.
Now is the Time to Train Your Team
Located in Ferndale, Fuse Technology Group is the premier provider of Business IT Services in Michigan. Our managed IT services provide a wide range of business technology solutions to help your organization increase productivity and your bottom line. Call 248.545.0800 today to learn more about our flat-rate managed IT and how Fuse Technology Group can help your business maintain uptime and become more productive.