Another day, another phishing attack. When it comes to preventing phishing attacks in Boston, knowledge is power. The more you learn about how phishing and ransomware attacks occur, the easier it is to avoid them to protect your business. Employee training programs are an essential part of network security strategies for comprehensive professional IT management. Savvy cybercriminals are always inventing new strategies that will help them to get past employees to gain access to your system. Clever phishing emails and landing pages are used that can fool even some of the smartest users. Staying up on the latest methods can help you and your team to stop phishing attacks in their tracks and safeguard your essential data and contacts.
The Latest Phishing Method
According to industry experts, the latest attempt at a phishing attack is directed to employees within the organization and impersonates the tech support team of the employer. The ruse involves emailing the employee to tell them that they have quarantined three email messages and have blocked them from their inbox. The email tells the employee that they can open the blocked messages by clicking on a link. However, the link actually takes the employee to a fake landing page that requires the user to input their email account credentials, which are captured by the cybercriminal. Unfortunately, this method has proven quite successful, as it cleverly spoofs the IT department or tech support’s email, making it appear as though it came from a trusted source.
Another marker of these phishing attacks in Boston is creating a sense of urgency. The message tells the employee that they suspect at least two of the emails are valid, but they will have to be deleted within three days unless they click on the link to take action. Not wanting to miss an essential email for work, the employee feels pressured to click on the link and willingly gives up their information. Creating a sense of urgency is part and parcel of the typical phishing attack message and is something that we help your team avoid with our employee training programs. Creating a company policy that makes a required action such as this suspicious is also part of the process. Working with every member of your team, from the tech support staff to all other employees, can help to create a strategy and implement protocols that they can rely on to avoid falling for this type of phishing attack.
The Human Element
You could have the best security system in place to block viruses, malware, and ransomware attacks, but unless you address the human element, you are still vulnerable. Phishing emails use social engineering and creative strategy to fool employees. They have been able to get through many different types of security email gateways to target businesses across just about every industry. Older methods, such as checking the “from email address” in the email client or looking for signatures and other company-specific markers, are not effective when the attacker goes out of their way to spoof tech support emails and mimic company logos and signatures to such a degree. However, some of the most common attacks can be prevented through education and ongoing support as part of an overall approach to network security.
Understanding why these attacks happen in the first place can be helpful as well. Many cybercriminals work hard to gather login credentials or customer data to steal money or information that can be used in some way for financial gain. User error or human error is often the best way to get this kind of information, especially in a world where most businesses have a strategic defense against common viruses, malware, and ransomware attacks. Phishing, spear phishing, and social engineering attacks can be extremely sophisticated, but through employee training programs, ongoing alerts, and support, it is possible to prevent them from happening in the first place. Professional IT management, monitoring, and network security services can help to add more layers of protection for your organization to safeguard sensitive information and data from would-be attackers.
Prevent Phishing Attacks in Boston
When you contact our team at Synivate to discuss options for preventing phishing attacks in Boston, we will also provide you with the tools you need to prepare for what you can do if an attack does occur. A comprehensive back-up and recovery plan will ensure that your organization can come back from any type of attack or data loss. Businesses can become quickly compromised in a wide range of situations, including cyberattacks, natural disasters, power outages, fires, and more. Hoping for the best, while planning for the worst, will prevent your company from becoming another statistic. Our IT specialists at Synivate can provide you with the tools you need to get your system back online and make changes that will prevent further disruption, access, or data loss following an attack or disaster. Contact our team by calling 617-848-1248 to speak with one of our team members or to schedule an appointment to discuss your needs at length. Professional IT management, employee training programs, backup and recovery plans, and more are all essential in today’s technology-dependent industries.