A phishing email sent to an employee is one of the most common ways organizations get hacked. In fact, phishing attacks have been present in many data breaches in the past few years.
In a phishing attack, cybercriminals pose as a trusted contact to trick you into divulging sensitive information. It could be a financial institution, credit card company, email service, well-known online platform, friends, or family.
The attacker could, for instance, send out an email claiming to be from the bank saying there has been a problem with your account. The email prompts you to click the link to verify your account details.
However, clicking the link will take you to the attacker’s phony website. The attacker gets your login details as soon as you enter them into the compromised website.
Many users today are wise to these tricks and refuse to click on links in emails altogether. However, not everyone is as cautious as you, so phishing is still common.
Plus, bad guys have developed novel phishing techniques. Cross-site scripting is an example of one such strategy.
If a website’s users can publicly display content, like product reviews, an attacker can do the same. But instead of a review, they post a programming script that can steal information from site visitors.
A typical function of that script is redirecting victims to a phishing domain. If the attacker is skilled enough, the phishing website will look exactly like the real one.
What Is The Most Effective Solution To Phishing Attacks?
There are two kinds of solutions to phishing attacks.
The first emphasizes the use of technology to prevent attacks. The point is to limit the number of phishing emails that get through to users and mitigate their impact if they do.
1. Password Manager
Password managers display an icon in the browser bar to show that the website you visited is saved within the password manager.
The icon will not appear if you mistyped the URL or if you are on a spoofed website as part of a phishing attempt. It should warn you that you are about to fall prey to a phishing attack.
In addition, password managers aid you in following expert recommendations for good password hygiene. It prompts you to use lengthy, complex, random, and unique passwords for every website.
2. Cloud Storage Solution
It is a common misconception that cloud storage is less safe than a physical server.
Cloud storage systems have many built-in safeguards to ensure the safety of your information. Some of cloud storage services’ most common security features include 256-bit AES encryption, SAS 70 Type II Compliance, and 4096-bit encryption.
Reliable cloud storage protects your data during transfer and while it is being stored. Therefore, one of the effective ways to avoid the consequences of phishing is to safeguard your data by keeping it in the cloud.
Keep your most valuable data in the safest cloud storage service you can find. Protect it with an unbreakable password and limit access to ensure its safety.
3. Cybersecurity Awareness Training
About 21% of security breaches result from human error, costing an average of $133 per record.
People are the weakest link in IT security. And this realization inspired the second type of solution to phishing.
Businesses “harden” their staff against spear phishing. Hardening means providing a variety of awareness training programs to educate users. These training programs enhance their ability to detect deception clues in emails.
There are two types of cybersecurity training–
One is intensive, topic-specific training done virtually or in the physical classroom. All employees will learn basic infosec. They will know how important it is to avoid risky behavior, like clicking links and opening attachments from suspicious emails.
A test taken by the trainee at the end of the training proves their resilience against phishing.
The second type of training involves putting workers through mock phishing attacks. Most of these embedded training programs include a module sent to users who did not pass the test. It explains all the clues they missed in the email.
Cybersecurity risks caused by human error can be a major headache. Not everyone on your team shares your dedication to keeping sensitive information safe. Thus, you should educate your employees and use the right technology to thwart phishing attacks.
