Identifying and Stopping Phishing Attempts: 5 Tactics

Phishing is a common tactic for cybercriminals to gain access to your organization’s sensitive data. Furthermore, a study by Deloitte reveals that phishing attacks represent 38% of all incidents involving cybercrime. With the increasing dependence on technology, cyberattacks have also become more sophisticated, making it challenging to detect and stop phishing attempts. As a CIO or CISO, it’s crucial to ensure that employees are aware of the risks of phishing and know how to identify and respond to these threats. Data from Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that cybercrime, including phishing, will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021. In this post, we’ll go over five ways to identify and stop phishing attempts in your organization.

1. Educate Your Workforce

One of the most crucial steps in preventing phishing attacks is to educate your employees. According to a report by Proofpoint, 83% of global respondents experienced phishing attacks in 2018. Cybercriminals often target employees with phishing scams, and employee negligence is the top cause of data breaches. A study by Verizon found that 30% of phishing messages get opened by targeted users. Therefore, it’s crucial to train your employees and make them aware of phishing tactics and how to recognize them. Educate your employees on how to identify suspicious emails, including typos, grammatical errors, and unfamiliar sender addresses. Training should also include the proper response in case of a phishing attempt, such as reporting to the IT department or deleting the email.

2. Foster a Security Culture

Creating a culture of security within your organization is essential in promoting security awareness and preventing phishing attacks. Encourage employees to report suspicious events, share security tips, and seek assistance when needed. Emphasize the importance of maintaining a culture of security, and make it an ongoing, high-priority effort. According to a survey by Ernst & Young, 87% of organizations identified a lack of security culture as their primary obstacle to cybersecurity effectiveness. Similarly, Cisco’s 2020 benchmark study found that organizations with a strong security culture have lower breach costs – a median of $62,000 compared to the median of $330,000 in organizations with a poor security culture. Furthermore, a study from Gartner suggests that a strong security culture helps organizations adapt to the evolving threat landscape, reducing the likelihood of successful cyber attacks by up to 50%. Finally, a study by the Sans Institute suggests that organizations with a strong security culture have reported up to a 70% decrease in phishing susceptibility.

These results of these studies underscore the importance of fostering a security culture within your organization in order to reduce the risk of cyber threats like phishing.

3. Conduct Regular Testing

Regular penetration testing and security assessments are essential to identifying vulnerabilities in your system. The 2020 CREST Penetration Testing report highlights how mock phishing attacks can help uncover weaknesses in an organization’s security protocols, thus providing opportunities for improvement. Conducting these mock phishing attacks, where employees are given email messages that mimic a real phishing attempt, can help uncover weaknesses in your security protocols. These tests enable you to identify areas of weakness and take proactive measures to prevent future attacks.

This testing has a direct impact on cost. A study by the Ponemon Institute shows that organizations employing regular security testing identified breaches 27% faster, with a 38% lower cost of response. Similarly, the 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report from Verizon found that organizations that conducted regular testing and employed an incident response team reduced the cost of a data breach by as much as $14 per worker per year.

4. Use Security Tools

According to McAfee, keeping your software updated can prevent up to 85% of targeted attacks. Your organization should leverage advanced security tools to detect and prevent phishing attacks. Anti-phishing software is an essential line of defense to safeguard against phishing scams. These tools can help identify and block fraudulent emails, websites, and other malicious content. It’s also important to ensure that the software and systems your organization uses are up-to-date with security patches and the latest updates. The Sophos State of Endpoint Security Today offers a detailed examination of how anti-phishing tools can help businesses to detect and block fraudulent emails and malicious content. Deploying up-to-date security tools and keeping software patched is a significant step in minimizing the likelihood and impact of phishing attacks.

5. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

Several cybersecurity reports underscore the importance of multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a critical element in protecting an organization’s data including the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report and a report by LoginRadius, which both indicate that 99.9% of cyberattacks can be prevented by implementing MFA. Moreover, a Google study found that on-device prompts, a form of two-step verification, helped to prevent 96% of bulk phishing attacks and 76% of targeted attacks.

Having a robust authentication mechanism is essential in protecting your organization’s data. MFA can mitigate the risk of attacks by adding an extra layer of security. A strong password combined with factors such as biometric authentication or two-step verification can make it difficult for attackers to infiltrate your systems.

In Summary

Phishing attacks are a real threat to organizations of all sizes, and the impact of a successful attack can be devastating. As a CIO or CISO, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your organization has the necessary measures in place to prevent and mitigate these attacks. By educating your workforce, fostering a culture of security, and conducting regular testing, using security tools, and enabling multi-factor authentication, you can reduce the risk of a successful phishing attack and protect your organization’s sensitive data. For deeper insights into the severity of phishing attacks and the necessity of the measures outlined above, you might want to consult the following resources:

If you are looking for a partner that can assist you in managing the security of your workforce, Montra can help. With our software and processes, we can help you keep your business safe from phishing and other security threats. Contact us today to get started: info@montra.io or +1-404-665-9675.

Laughing at Hackers: 5 Proactive Steps You Can Take to Secure Your Laptops from External Threats

Here’s a joke that’s not funny: your company’s data was just hacked.

Shock waves, unmitigated panic, and alibis are all fair play when you as the CIO, CISO or Head of IT, wakes up to the news that a hacker has infiltrated their systems. Fingers are pointing in every direction, questions are flying, and your reputation is on the line. What went wrong? It could stem from the fact that you only protected your perimeter with a firewall – your organization thought that it was enough to safeguard its network infrastructure and didn’t think much about user devices. However, laptops are a popular attack vector for an assailant to get into your inner sanctum.

According to a recent report by Verizon, 94% of malware was delivered via email, and user devices like laptops were the primary targets. Moreover, a study by Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million. It’s vitally important to adopt comprehensive security measures to protect not only your network infrastructure but also individual user devices.

So, what steps can you take to make your laptop more secure? Here are five strategies that you can use to combat external threats:

1. Utilize Strong Passwords

According to a report by Verizon, over 80% of data breaches are a result of weak or compromised passwords. To appreciate the importance of password strength, you must reconsider that hackers have computing power, time, and nerves on their side. But with the built-in technology of a password manager, you can utilize complex sign-in credentials for every account on your laptop, making them too difficult to crack in a reasonable amount of time.

A study by the University of Virginia illustrated that using a password manager can significantly increase the strength and variability of passwords, thereby amping up security. Once in place the password manager will automatically log you in without having to recall them all. It will also send you reminders to change passwords regularly, which is only advisable if you are using a password manager.

Furthermore, research by Pew Research Center indicates that only 12% of U.S. internet users utilize a password manager for remembering their password.

2. Enable Multi Factor Authentication

Fact. You need two factors to verify an identity. The FBI has reported that multifactor authentication (MFA) can block 99.9% of automated cyber-attacks. Moreover, according to Symantec, 80% of data breaches could be prevented with MFA. Therefore, multifactor authorization is the two-in-one (or more-in-one) approach that makes certain it’s you logging into the system.

The standard approach is to think of it as something you know, something you have, and something you are – a password, a smart card, and a fingerprint. Research by Google found that even the weakest forms of MFA, such as SMS-based verification codes, can block 100% of automated bots, 96% of bulk phishing attacks, and 76% of targeted attacks.

Despite the clear benefits, MFA is underutilized, with only 57% of people using it for their personal accounts and 30% at work, according to a report by Microsoft. If utilized MFA provides arguably the most effective line of defense in securing your laptop from external threats.

3. Install Updates and Patches

New software vulnerabilities are constantly found. A study by Flexera found that in 2019, 60% of breaches involved vulnerabilities for which a patch was available but not applied. The only way to avoid being exploited by this kind of attack is to install software patches and updates. They will help to fix any known security vulnerabilities in the software you use.

Further underscoring the importance of regular system updates, the Ponemon Institute’s 2019 State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses report revealed that 63% of respondents experienced a data breach due to a known, unpatched vulnerability. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer – keep your software updated!

4. Use Antivirus and Anti-malware software

According to a report by AV-TEST, an independent cybersecurity institute, over 350,000 new malware and potentially unwanted applications (PUA) are registered every day. This alarming number illustrates the importance of antivirus and anti-malware software in protecting your laptop.

The state of the art in defending  against attack vectors and malicious threats keeps changing. Antivirus (AV) has given way to Next-gen Antivirus (NGAV), which has been upped by endpoint detect & response (EDR). You should look into whether NGAV or EDR is right for you, it really depends on the potential damage that a breach to the individual laptop can cause. Regardless of what type you use, installing a current antivirus and anti-malware software will assist in intercepting many external threats.

5. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A study by the Ponemon Institute revealed that 68% of organizations admit antivirus solutions are not sufficient. Increasing cyber threats and a rising remote workforce, necessitates the use of secure, encrypted connections. There is a growing need for VPNs as a tool for securing internet connections, particularly when accessing public Wi-Fi networks. VPNs create a private network between a company’s network and a remote user to secure the internet connection.

In a nutshell, a VPN is vital for remote workers as it provides a secure, encrypted connection when utilizing a home connection or public Wi-Fi. In the age of remote work and digital nomads, using a VPN has gone from an optional extra to a necessary security measure.

To Summarize

Is gaining peace of mind that your end-user laptops are secure a burden for you? If the answer is yes, then these tips should aid your computing device protection game. You can’t go wrong with utilizing strong passwords, enabling multi factor authentication, installing updates and patches, using antivirus and anti-malware software, and using a VPN.

Take your laptop’s security one step further than your office firewall; take preemptive measures to make hackers regret even trying! Remember, security should always be your top priority as data breaches can have severe consequences for your organization.

If you have questions about getting your laptops secured or need a partner to secure and manage your laptops for you, reach out to us at info@montra.io or +1-404-665-9675.