What is Phishing?
Phishing is a type of cyber attack where the attacker impersonates a legitimate organization or trusted individual. The attacker typically includes a malicious link or attachment in an email to spur the victim into taking action without thinking. This could be clicking a link that redirects them to a fake website designed to steal login credentials or other sensitive data, downloading an infected file to install malware on the device, or both.
A key component of phishing attacks is generating a sense of urgency or fear in the victim to spur them into acting without thinking. This can include a spoofed message such as “your account is at risk” or “the IRS has started an investigation”.
In addition to email, phishing can occur via social media, messaging apps, voice, text, search engines, and even the dark web. Malicious actors may also pose as a manager, CEO or CFO over the phone using an AI voice generator and demand a fraudulent transfer of funds.
Educate your employees to be wary of suspicious emails and calls. Encourage them to always check the sender information, especially if it comes from a blocked number or doesn’t have an organization name. Encourage them to use an endpoint protection tool that scans devices for threats, and ensure their devices are updated with the latest security patches. Make sure they understand why they need to regularly run a full security scan to mitigate malware that enters their system through phishing attacks.