AI—artificial intelligence—has been a hot topic as of late, with it seemingly being used for any purpose you can imagine nowadays. Unfortunately, this has also included cybercrime. However, just as AI can be a weapon for cybercriminals to use, it can also be a shield to help protect your business from threats. For instance, in phishing prevention.
Phishing attacks have consistently been prominent in cybercrime throughout the past few years, not only due to their efficacy but also because there are so many avenues wherein phishing can be attempted. The first that comes to mind is email, of course, but you and your team need to keep these others in mind. Take, for instance, a phishing voicemail…dubbed, naturally, a “phoicemail.”
Cybercrime is a big deal; and phishing is behind a large percentage of the cyberattacks out there. The act of phishing is a good old-fashioned social engineering scheme. Basically, a scammer sends a message with the intent to have someone interact with the message, thus giving them access (or at least the information needed to gain access) to accounts. This month, we thought we’d briefly go through phishing messages and how to identify them.
I’m talking about when the heir to the Nigerian throne would reach out to your Hotmail account to help him secure his inheritance, or when an attractive woman or man you’ve never met before would email you out of the blue asking if you were single; spam has always been annoying, but back then, it was clearly just junk that could be ignored. Today, it’s not so simple.
Okay, let’s say you’ve been infected by a ransomware attack, and (against our advice) you’ve elected to pay the ransom. That’s the biggest cost that comes with it, right? Unfortunately, wrong. A ransomware attack comes with a lot more financial impact than just the payment the attacker demands. Let’s go over some of these other costs that can actually outpace that of the ransom.
Let me ask you a few questions—first, how confident are you that you could spot an online ruse, and second, did you know there’s a stain on your shirt right now? Did you look? If so, you’ve just fallen for the school playground version of social engineering, a serious threat. Let’s discuss the kind that you’re more likely to see in terms of your business’ cybersecurity.
We’ve all seen our friends and family sharing quizzes on their social media profiles, prompting people to find out what their celebrity stage name or what Hogwarts house you would be in, or to share what their first concert experience was. These fun, lighthearted quizzes are a great way to get to know a little more about the people we’re connected with… and that’s the biggest problem.
Phishing is one of those threats that has been around for a long time, and as time passes by, these threats only become more difficult to identify. Some businesses can’t tell the difference between phishing scams and actual emails. Here’s how your company can take steps toward properly identifying and responding to phishing emails.
Even the most cautious employee could fall victim to a well-placed and well-timed phishing email. What are some factors that contribute to the success of these attacks, and what subject lines in particular should people be cautious about? A recent study takes a look at what goes into a successful phishing attack, and you might be surprised by the results.