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What is Phishing?
Phishing is the act of sending out malicious emails with the intent to take personal information, business secrets, or financial data under false pretenses. This email can ask a professional to supply the sender with sensitive information like login credentials or social security numbers, to click on a corrupt link, to visit an infected website, or to perform an external action that goes against normal protocols.
Due to its simplicity and high rates of success, phishing attempts have become pervasive amongst low-level criminals and high-tech hackers alike. Overall, experts estimate that phishing and ransomware attacks generate over $1 billion annually from direct ransom payments and corporate loss.
Kaspersky Lab asserts that well over 50% of all users are not entirely confident in their abilities to successfully detect and avoid a phishing attack. This is because a phishing attack can be incredibly targeted and detailed. Hackers are becoming better and better at impersonating high-level executives, and employees often don’t think twice when doing exactly what the boss asks.
What can Phishing do?
The negative consequences of a phishing attack are serious, can carry on for years following an attack, and can initiate a depressing ripple effect.
Of course, you stand to lose money, either through paying a ransom to get your data back, transferring money per the hacker’s instructions, or corporate losses from productivity while overcoming an attack.
You also stand to lose your hard-earned reputation, as well as your long-term livelihood. Sixty percent of small businesses that suffer a cyber-attack, like phishing are out of business within six months if they ever open their doors again at all.
Where is Phishing headed?
Phishing is no longer limited to the inbox or impressive cyber-criminals. In fact, it never has been.
A successful phishing campaign can be played out in person, over the phone, or through an online advertisement by any petty criminal who wants to give it a go. All that’s required is a heavy dose of social engineering and maybe even some acting skills. To do this, a person preys upon human weaknesses by employing a variety of tactics. Here are a few possibilities:
These are just a few of the potential situations where social engineering goes beyond the typical phishing email and enters into the real world. Much like a phishing email, these situations can be difficult to spot, and if given enough detail and planning, they can be near impossible to effectively avoid.
How do you protect yourself from Phishing?
Your greatest defense against phishing emails and social engineering, in general, is your suspicion. You should always remain 100% suspicious of every request for information, money, and data that you receive – even if it comes from you CEO. Here are a few tips to help you and your fellow team members protect your business and yourselves from everyday phishing scams:
How can we help?
As a company specializing in online network security and email applications, we understand the inner-workings of phishing. If you would like to learn about our FREE phishing simulation or have any questions on how to better prepare your business to fight off a phishing attack, then give us a call today at 336-629-6484.
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