What is the importance of phishing awareness training? Should you take awareness training and education? We’ll explain that! At present, technological advances represent a benefit for companies since through these tools they have been able to optimize from administrative processes to production and manufacturing. However, these advances also gave way to new digital risk methods for business information: cyber attacks. For cybercriminals, companies are a perfect target since they handle a large amount of information a day.
The risk lies in the digital systems due to their interconnection, that is, the data that is saved is not entirely private, but has different accesses through a network, allowing intrusion into business databases.
This includes from employee personal reports to financial figures.
Most of the time businesses don’t know they are in danger. They don’t have phishing awareness. According to the GSISS 2018 report of the PwC consultancy, 78.6% of the companies in the country have been victims of cyber attacks in the last 12 months, and in this same period of time, Kaspersky Lab said that in Latin America there were more than 746,000 attacks with an approximate of 9 cyber intrusions per second.
Today there are several methods used by cyber criminals, but one of those that has been increasing is phishing. Relevant information is provided below that will help to better understand this attack to increase business cybersecurity and prevent possible risks.
What is phishing?
This method focuses on the same users sharing their personal data by clicking on external links to fill out forms. For that, criminals manipulate and deceive users in a psychological and emotional way to obtain, from their own hand, what they want.
Phishing mail
Phishing appropriates the name of legitimate and trusted companies, for example, banks or telephony, using different media such as emails, online games, phone calls, SMS messages, and advertising on websites and social networks, among others. With this, they try to obtain an easy entry towards the information hoping that the users share the league with their contacts and generate massive attacks. The only thing they expect is to “chop the hook.” In addition, phishers can steal user identity and perform operations on their behalf without them noticing. For example, carry out a bank transaction or until the victim’s account is available. To mitigate such risks, phishing penetration testing can be a valuable tool, as it helps businesses identify vulnerabilities in their systems and train employees to recognize and respond to phishing attempts effectively.
Phishing: A threat to companies
For companies, phishing is a means to steal financial data and confidential documents. This crime is carried out through employees (mainly high level), who can leave the passage open and allow cyber criminals to infiltrate. However, once they have accessed the network, it is difficult to stop the infiltration without harming.
It should be considered that email is the means that phishers use most to perform cyberattack. To exemplify, it could happen that a manager receives an email to reset his password to enter the business platform. This seems like a normal procedure since you have previously received similar notifications. However, when the manager accesses this link to perform such action, he is providing updated information that endangers the integrity of the company. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze properly so as not to fall into the cyber traps that can seriously harm the business and even hinder its future.
This type of attack can be prevented by implementing the following phishing awareness tips:
Training courses
It is essential to train employees, especially those who have access to confidential information, on cybersecurity issues. This will help them to identify possible computer threats and suspicious emails. Today, there are several types of related training; email phishing training, spear-phishing awareness training, sophos phishing treat and so on. They help every beginner to minimize the risk of cyber attacks.
VPN network usage
Using a private network for the company is essential as it reduces the probability of having an external infiltration. To do this, employees must be required to use the VPN on all work devices, from laptops to cell phones.
Implement security software
To combat phishing in an optimal way, the implementation of business cybersecurity software should be considered. These systems are focused on analyzing the level of network protection and alerting critical events such as hacking.
Keep all software updated
The vulnerable or weak points are what the hackers look for. Therefore, it is required to install the necessary software updates including some notifications such as phishing awareness email.
Use of several reinforced passwords
In the case of entering confidential platforms such as those in the accounting area, other access resources to passwords must be used. For example, fingerprints, facial recognition or, personal questions such as what was the first cell phone acquired, among others.
No matter if it is a start-up or a transnational company, everyone is exposed to these dangers, where the objective is to capture the attention of the receiver to steal. However, these potential dangers can be avoided by training and each training will increase awareness of phishing. Finally, for your info, Cofense phishing awareness is recommended for you who want to understand how you can increase your employees’ phishing awareness. Thank you for reading and be careful!
