Businesses in Ottawa face numerous security challenges when it comes to protecting their information from phishing attacks.
It remains one of the top challenges facing businesses worldwide, with three out of four enterprises reporting attack incidents in 2020.
Sixty percent of successful attacks resulted in lost data, and 47 percent of organizations had their systems infected with ransomware. Those statistics alone provide insight into why phishing has become an increasingly popular method among cybercriminals.
The overwhelming majority of phishing attacks are delivered via email, which increases the importance of being vigilant and thinking before you click.
It’s not as difficult as you may think to prevent yourself and your employees from falling for the bait, regardless of how subtle it may be disguised. Let’s first understand the enemy.
What is a Phishing Attack?
Cybercrime, such as phishing, occurs when someone impersonates an organization or individual to trick the victim into divulging personal information to the hackers, such as passwords, banking information, and credit card details.
Once this information is obtained, the target’s accounts are accessed, leading to substantial financial losses. Businesses in Ottawa can also be targeted by phishing scams, resulting in the theft of company-sensitive information, such as revenue figures.
Phishing scams can also be used to infect your computer with ransomware, in addition to gaining access to confidential information. A ransomware attack encrypts your files and prevents you from accessing them. Once these files are encrypted, cybercriminals will demand a “ransom” to decrypt them.
Popular Phishing Attacks On Businesses
1. Company Impersonation
Attackers impersonating your brand is one of the most common phishing scams. Usually, this is done with an email address related to a domain very similar to your business’s domain (e.g., “Jane.Doe@amazon-support”). Companies also have difficulty spotting it since they don’t know about it until they are tripped up or alert.
2. Spear phishing
A scheme like this entails using a fake company name and essential details about the target company. Like in sales, a representative finds the prospective customer’s name, position, and other specifics and adds them to the pitch email. An attacker can use the same tactics to entice their victims into his trap. This is an extremely dangerous tactic.
3. Clone Phishing Attack
To commit clone phishing, hackers create malicious emails to fool you into disclosing your private information by masquerading as legitimate emails from reputable sources.
4. Voice Phishing
The scam is similar to that described above, but the attacker calls instead of sending emails. By pretending to be a legitimate official, a scammer connives to get confidential information out of the target.
5. Smishing
These attacks utilise short message services (SMS). You will be directed to a fake website via a text message that appears harmless but has malicious code on it. The site will ask for personal information that can be used for Identity theft. Additionally, it may attempt to download malware onto your PC or smartphone.
How can your Ottawa business protect itself from Phishing Attacks?
1.Set Up Security Software
Anti-phishing software is the best way to defend against phishing attacks. Virus protection, spam filters, and firewalls can help keep phishing attacks at bay. Companies can also install web filters to protect their employees from visiting malicious sites.
2. Ensure Software Is Up To Date
Furthermore, updating your operating system with the latest security patches reduces your chance of falling victim to phishing attacks. Maintain all software and equipment regularly with regular updates. FTC recommends that you keep the following up-to-date:
- Computer security software
- The operating system
- Apps and browsers
3. Establish An Environment In Which Users Can Report Phishing Attacks
You benefit from getting vital information about what types of phishing attacks are being used if you allow users to report phishing attempts (including ones that are clicked on). You can also determine what effect this has on your business by discovering what emails are misinterpreted as phishing.
4. Routine Backups
Did you test your backup and recovery plan recently? You’re probably overdue if you can’t recall. Regular backups ensure that in case of an emergency, your data can be recovered completely.
5. Enforcement Of Password Policies
Password expiration policies and rules governing password use should be enforced. The use of numbers, special characters, and a minimum password length help make passwords more complex and challenging to crack.
6. Make Use Of Multi-Factor Authentication.
You need at least two credentials to access company accounts. By implementing multi-factor authentication, hackers whose credentials have been compromised won’t be able to gain access to your systems.
7. Make Sure Your Employees Are Well Educated And Trained.
Perhaps the most essential part of the whole process is educating your employees. Unless your colleagues know the warning signs of a fraudulent email, your network may be at risk even if you recognize them.
Running simulated phishing tests can help ensure your entire workforce is aware of the risks and recognize a phishing scam. By doing so, you will rest assured that everybody at your office understands the risks.
In the end, human error poses the biggest threat to your data integrity, and lack of training leaves you vulnerable, likely to remain one of the thousands that fall victim to phishing scams each year.
8.Ensure You Have A Plan For Handling Incidents
After an incident has been discovered, you need to take action as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
What should I do?
In case of any incidents, ensure your employees know what to do. If a password has been compromised, how might you force its reset? How will malware be removed from a device, and who is responsible for doing it?
A plan for responding to an incident should be practised before it occurs. Exercises are the best way to ensure that the plan works.
Before You Go
Do you find yourself bogged down with your email and cybersecurity needs? Defending against phishing attacks is mainly about identifying and neutralizing threats at the right time, and that is what a seasoned IT support firm brings to the table.
Allow BedrockIT to alleviate your worries. We provide different IT support solutions and Manage IT services 24/7 in Ottawa. We also offer professional consulting services to help build your brand.
At BedrockIT, we align technology with business strategy to help businesses succeed. Get a free consultation today with BedrockIT to learn how we can help protect your business against phishing and cybersecurity threats.
