Keeping Your Business Out Of The Phishing Net (infographic)

Both the majority of businesses and the majority of individuals experience phishing attacks, but when was the last time you thought about it? Chances are the software and algorithms in your email are protecting you from most phishing attacks so you don’t even have to think about it. Unfortunately sometimes these attacks get through the passive systems, which can lead to a catastrophe. In order to protect from those phishing attacks that make it through the system, people need to be better trained as the last line of defense.

Spotting Phishing Is Hard

Phishing is the act of exploiting human nature to gain access to a system. It’s a lot easier than trying to exploit software because human nature is pretty easy to manipulate. Hackers know that panicked people make irrational decisions, so they use this knowledge to scare people into giving them what they want. Often when you see subject lines like “urgent action needed” or “changes to your open enrollment” or “legal action against you” that means a hacker is trying to scare you into thinking that there’s a problem with something that needs your urgent attention. Often because it’s so out of the blue it will catch you off guard and you will give it your full attention until it is resolved, giving hackers the easiest access point into your organization.

Every day 384 billion emails are sent worldwide, and 85% are estimated to be spam. In 2018 alone 80% of people experienced a phishing attack, but many had no idea. Two thirds of consumers have received phishing emails, and a third have been compromised from computer viruses or having an account hacked.

Phishing Is Costly - And Preventable

When businesses experience a successful phishing attack, it can cost an average of $2 million to clean up. It also leads to:

• 67% decreased productivity
• 54% data loss
• 50% reputation damage

A third of consumers will stop using a business after a data breach, which leads to even more losses in the long term.

Employee training for dealing with phishing attacks is crucial. Nearly three quarters of employees report that protecting themselves from phishing attacks has become more difficult in recent years as hackers become more sophisticated in their attacks. Common attacks include:

• Toll violation notification - makes the recipient feel a sense of urgency
• Invoice payment required - looks like a legitimate message
• Updated building evacuation plan - makes the recipient feel fear and need for preparedness

Routing suspicious emails to IT is the first step, but because only about 15% of emails IT receives are actually malicious, many actual malicious emails are likely to be falling through the cracks. Even 75% of hackers say they aren’t usually impressed with the security measures they encounter when trying to penetrate a specific organization.

When organizations take the time to train employees to spot and prevent phishing attacks, it makes a big difference. What’s even more important, though, is to give people feedback on how they are doing. Giving employees the tools they need to spot phishing attacks as well as the feedback they need to know whether they are applying their lessons correctly makes all the difference to organizations.

In 2018, 93% of security breaches were a direct result of phishing attacks that got through the conventional means of prevention. In order to protect your business, it’s time to reassess your cybersecurity methods and make the right adjustments. Passive security measures are a big first step, but active security measures are going to close the gap the passive systems leave behind. Learn more about how to keep your business out of the phishing net from the infographic below.



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