How Employees Can Help Protect Their Organizations From Phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that targets people in a systematic way to steal sensitive information, like passwords, credit card numbers and other personal data. While phishing attacks have become more sophisticated, employees can help protect their organizations by knowing the signs and symptoms of phishing.
Phishers often use fear and a sense of urgency in their attacks to trick victims into sharing sensitive information. These emails often ask victims to click a link or enter login credentials into a fake website. Attackers can also include a malicious attachment that, when opened, will download a malware script or macro on the victim’s device. This is called spear phishing, and attackers can even target specific individuals or businesses with messages that appear to be from their coworkers or family members.
A common example involves an attacker posing as a bank and sending out mass email or text messages that look very similar to a genuine message from the victim’s bank. The attacker then links to a site that looks like the bank’s website and hopes that the victim will enter their username and password, giving them access to sensitive information and financial accounts.
It is important to train users to recognize the inconsistencies that are typically associated with phishing attacks. These can include spelling mistakes and odd use of grammar. Sophisticated phishing campaigns will try to make these inconsistencies hard to detect, but they should still be treated with suspicion.