A recent digital-economic analysis reported that 90 percent of all data transgressions were connected to phishing attacks. These have grown common but most businesses are still struggling to learn more about, and to employ the right defenses to combat them. Phishing attacks can be disproportionately damaging, apparently leading to an average loss of $1.6 million to a medium sized business! Phishing victims are usually reached through their Android phones, devices and computers. With phishing growing infinitely as a cyber-threat, it is necessary for businesses and corporations to educate themselves and their employees about it, so it can be dealt with in a timely and preventive fashion.
What are phishing scams?
Everyone who has used the internet during the last decade probably remembers those emails asking for your bank details or an amount of cash, promising that in return a stranger across continents will make you rich? Phishing is a cybercrime in which criminals or ‘phishers’ impersonate a legitimate institution, organization, person or party, to contact an individual and bait them. The practice usually results in the phisher gaining access to the individual’s personal details, including passwords, financial credentials and sensitive information. After that, this information can be used to gain further access to the target person’s or organization’s bank accounts, often resulting in irreversible losses.
Phishing can also lead to data leaks, including classified information and can be used by opponents to gain advantage over corporate competition. There are different ways of phishing using different communication methods, email phishing being the most common. However, recent years have witnessed a substantial rise in phishing carried out via text messages, known as Smishing, and, through phone calls, aka Vishing. Spear-phishing, which gets its name from targeted shots, has also increased in occurrence, with deliberate phishing attacks aimed at selected individuals, growing more prevalent. The repercussions of a successful phishing attempt can be huge and permanent, making prevention and preemption the best methods of preserving your corporate security.
Defensive measures against Phishing:
1. Use E-mail filters:
While a junk or spam email filter won’t guarantee safety against phishing attempts, it will still help keep them significantly at bay.
Some email providers have superior phishing detection, and can go a long way to provide your business with decent protection.
Most email clients also feature an option for disabling hyperlinks, so that any employee mistakenly opening an illegitimate link or being baited into clicking one won’t put your business trade secrets at risk.
2. Install updated Anti-virus Software:
Installing Anti- virus software on your employees’ and your machines and devices should be a given, to protect your business not only from phishing scams, but all cyber threats. Most anti-virus programs come with built-in anti-phishing capabilities that automatically scan emails, messages and attachments. They are also excellent and identifying and isolating threats before you have to deal with them yourself.
Anti-viruses also give users the option of scheduled and maintenance scans and updates so you can concentrate on long term goals and worry less about cyber-threats.
3. VPNS and privacy browsers:
A VPN or Virtual Private network is a crucial tool for businesses that work with sensitive or classified information. It essentially has live GPS location tracking as well as third party access to machine and device information.
Even using a public Wifi connection can expose your devices to multiple threats, and an effective VPN can encrypt your data during your online activity.
Privacy browsers can also do an exemplary job at keeping your location, and, professional and personal data, safe.
4. Spyware for Android and digital devices:
The majority of phishing scams are implemented through phones, making tracking and monitoring your employees’ phone an efficient solution to cyber threats and data leaks. Employees use a large number of social networking and communication platforms in a day, making exposure to phishing unavoidable. Best Android Spy app can ensure leaders can stay one step ahead of digital threats.
5. Raise awareness about cyber threats:
Education, alertness, and vigilance about threats can reap countless benefits for your employees and workplace. It should be the first step towards protection from phishing attacks. It is imperative to remember that a single coworker’s or employee’s recklessness with digital devices can expose an entire organization to phishing. Regular workshops about predominant cyber threats as well as test simulations can help employees better identify phishing scams.
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