6 Ways To Avoid and Remain Safe From ‘Phishing Attacks’

Cyberspace is expanding at a rapid rate giving intruders the required scope to perform their malicious practices.

Despite cybersecurity policies and strict compliance, breaches are happening at a high rate, causing billions of dollars globally.

While new threats are emerging, Phishing continues to be one major challenge for most companies.

A single breach incident, on average, caused USD 3.92 million loss for US companies in 2019. Phishing attacks alone accounted for 32 percent of the total breaches in the year.

So, it’s time to be more cautious about such attacks considering the expanding digital pace and cloud-based operations.

ALSO READ | 2020 Insider Data Breach Survey Report

Here are some effective ways you can protect your employees from phishing attacks:

Effective Ways You Can Protect Your Employees From Phishing Attacks

1) Mandatory Security Training

Roll-out cybersecurity training program organization-wide and make everyone part of that. Make it a mandatory part of the onboarding procedure. Find effective ways to provide your staff with the engaging training process. Let the teams be aware of security best practices and alert in case of any suspicious activity.

2) Identifying Phishing Emails

Let your employees gain the ability to identify phishing emails. Some of the ways to identify phishing emails:

  • Hackers might not have professional writers to write error-free email messages. So, closely monitor for any proofing errors!
  • Intruders might not use personalized messages (referring to your name) like your office emails.
  • Check the sender’s domain associated with email and check if that belongs to a legitimate source.
  • In general, genuine emails from any companies do not contain attachments you haven’t asked for.

3) Explain Real-time Scenarios

Alongside training programs, explain to your employees the real-time scenarios or incidents involving phishing attacks and their impact on businesses elsewhere. This gives them a clearer picture and makes them feel the impact.

4) Use Antivirus and Keep It Updated

Despite robust training and awareness, there are high chances that your employee can fall prey to phishing attacks. To avoid such instances beyond human intervention, make sure to have an antivirus software company-wide and keep it updated.

5) Involve Executives

Everyone in the organization should play an active role in ensuring corporate IT security. Not just employees, even the top-level executives, must be aware of security measures. They are closely associated with confidential activities and information at a higher level.

6) Avoid Information Oversharing

Be cautious when you fill personal details like current occupation, profile, company, among others, in social media forms. That can help intruders make their emails more composed, appealing, and professional.

ALSO READ | How to Create a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (CSIRP)?

In Conclusion

There are many such ways to identify and safeguard from phishing attacks. All you need to do is be aware of the security best practices and stay updated about the cybersecurity trends.

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