It is essential to stay on top of the latest data concerning phishing attacks and other issues that can be a threat to your company’s network security. You might be surprised to find out that employee education and support is the best defense against most business email compromises. At Synivate, we work with each client to create a custom approach to security, including employee programs to ensure that everyone is on the same page about how to identify and handle suspicious emails and contacts.
What are Business Email Compromises?
According to industry experts who monitor the most used and damaging types of cyberattacks, the current threat that as grown exponentially in the past year is business email compromises. This is a wide category that includes all sorts of things like phishing attacks, spear phishing, and MFA bombing. These exploits are favored by cybercriminals because they work. They only work because most companies don’t take the time to train their staff and make sure they know how to identify and handle something like this when it comes along.
There’s an old saying, “when you hear hooves, think horses – not zebras.” The meaning of this can be applied to many different situations. When you see something it is best to think simply and consider the most basic or common type of problem rather than anticipating something more exotic. When it comes to network security, you’ll want to look at basic phishing attacks and other types of email compromises as the likely culprit rather than more sophisticated kinds of attacks. Right now, things like social engineering, phishing, and other basic methods are the most commonly used attacks around the globe.
Why Phishing Attacks Are Still King
Small to medium sized businesses are primary targets for these types of attacks. While it might seem more likely that a larger, more well-known organization would be at the top of the list, SMBs are hit much more frequently by cybercriminals. According to one study, the number of incidents involving business email compromises doubled in 2022, surpassing ransomware as the number one threat for financially motivated cyberthreats. Within the email compromise category, phishing attacks accounted for more than one-third of all incidents, increasing three times what it was just in 2021.
In contrast, ransomware attacks fell by more than 55 percent in the same time period, yet still remain a serious threat. Insiders believe that the reduction in ransomware-based attacks has more to do with increased law enforcement than anything else. Companies need to do everything they can to reduce their vulnerabilities with regard to these types of attacks. Working with a knowledgeable IT service provider and consultant, such as Synivate can help. In addition to services that can be used to increase network security, we offer our clients employee education and support programs to significantly reduce the potential for a successful attack.
What the Experts Are Saying
According to the industry experts, companies of all sizes need to increase their ability to detect threats and quickly extinguish any attacks before they take root. 24/7 monitoring and management services, as well as a variety of other comprehensive support programs, are available through Synivate for companies that want to prevent network attacks. The experts also suggest employing a centralized log retention and analysis approach across all hosts, network, and cloud resources, to improve monitoring and management coverage.
Web filtering and network detection programs can also be helpful to identify suspicious domains and Ips, which might be used by cybercriminals as part of their attack. Business email compromises are somewhat easy to deploy, which means that the attacker does not need to have a lot of skills or experience to start phishing attacks with multiple targets. A majority of these types of attacks have been attributed to cybercriminals either in or affiliated with China. Other attacks have their roots in areas like Russia or are connected to the Russian-Ukraine conflict in some way.
Contact Synivate for More Information
If you would like to learn more about our innovative technology solutions designed to enhance network security or our commitment to providing employee education and support, contact our team directly. You can reach us via our contact page on the website or call us directly at 617-848-1248. We can answer any questions you might have about business email compromises, phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, and assist you in setting up a strategic backup and recovery program.