BYE BYE PHISHING

CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH – WEEK 4

We’re into week four of Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM), 20^th birthday celebrations are still in full swing, and all guns are still blazing. You’ll remember that the central theme for this year is Secure Our World, focussing on four key elements of cybersecurity: passwords and password managers, multifactor authentication (MFA), phishing, and updates. This time we’ll dig deep into phishing scams, something that you are all familiar with and the main culprit behind those pesky ransomware attacks. Remember, that while CSAM is crammed with useful cybersecurity insights, one piece of wisdom stands out – the cybercrime landscape is evolving as we speak and we need to understand the importance of facing the unknown. In part of his proclamation on CSAM, United States President, Joe Biden said:

“I have made cybersecurity a national security priority because cyber threats affect every sector of society, from the critical infrastructure that underpins our daily lives to the schools where we educate our children and the products we use in our homes. We also take immediate action to better protect ourselves such as turning on multifactor authentication, updating software on computers and devices, using strong passwords, and remaining cautious of clicking on links that look suspicious.”

WHAT IS PHISHING?

Phishing is a form of cybercrime where individuals or groups make contact with one or more targets via email, phone calls, or text messages while pretending to represent a legitimate organization. Their objective is to deceive people into disclosing sensitive information, including personally identifiable details, banking and credit card information, and passwords. Once these cybercriminals obtain such data, they exploit it to gain unauthorized access to vital accounts, potentially resulting in identity theft and financial losses.

THE FIRST PHISHING LITIGATION

The first recorded phishing lawsuit emerged in 2004 when a teenager from California replicated the “America Online” website. This deceptive website allowed him to collect sensitive data from users, including their credit card information, which he used to make unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts. In addition to email and website phishing, there are other tactics employed by cybercriminals, such as ‘vishing’ (voice phishing), ‘smishing’ (SMS phishing), and various evolving phishing techniques.

PHISHING TECHNIQUES

There are several types of email phishing scams, including:

SPEAR PHISHING 

While a majority of phishing emails are sent indiscriminately to a large number of recipients, relying on quantity for their success (increased volume increases the chances of finding a victim who will open them), there are also more targeted approaches known as spear phishing, aimed at specific organizations or individuals. Similar to broader phishing campaigns, these spear phishing emails may contain malicious links or attachments.

Various forms of spear phishing include:

SPOTTING PHISHING

Typically, phishing emails have one or more of these telltale signs:

REPORTED PHISHING STATISTICS

In a recent study, the most commonly reported scams included:

REPORTING PHISHING

As advised by GOV.UK, we can report misleading websites, phishing emails, phone numbers, phone calls or text messages you think may be suspicious.

If you suspect that you’ve suffered financial losses or a cyberattack due to an online scam or fraudulent activity in England or Wales, reach out to Action Fraud. You can report your incident online by either signing up for an account or proceeding as a ‘guest.’ You can also contact them by calling 0300 123 2040.

PROTECT IT BETTER

One thing about us humans is that we all make mistakes. Unwittingly, we may click on a link or download an attachment in a suspicious email. With Zhero by your side, we’ll make sure that never happens. We’ll even block all phishing emails so that they never reach your inbox. In that way, controlling phishing is like child’s play. Zhero’s Protect IT Better solution has been carefully crafted and developed to proactively nurture and build a sustainable cybersecurity environment giving your business a competitive advantage. Our advanced technology-as-a-service innovations include effective anti-spam, anti-virus and email filtering to keep your precious data safely under lock and key – your money and your identity, too. Moreover, Protect IT Better uses holistic monitoring and reporting to ensure that you are always protected against all cyberattacks. Do you want to crush your IT chaos? Of course, you do. Contact Zhero today and we’ll show you how to do it.