What is a phishing attack and why is it difficult to spot?

No Internet user is immune to cybersecurity threats. From risks posed by unattended hardware to malicious links delivered to an inbox, users must remain vigilant and aware of the possible dangers presented by modern technology.

One of the most persistent and nefarious cyber threats is phishing. As a fraudulent means of tricking a user out of their personal or private information, it’s believed that more than 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent to unsuspecting users each and every day.

“Phishing” may have a funny name, but it’s serious business. As simple email scams have morphed into larger, more sophisticated fraud operations like spear-phishing campaigns, businesses must take the right precautions to ensure that employees don’t fall for tricks that can jeopardize crucial business data.

Here’s a closer look at how phishing works, how spear phishing presents a unique threat to businesses, and what can be done to ward off such threats:

What is phishing?

Phishing is a criminal tactic that attempts to pass off a fake message as authentic with the intention of tricking the user into performing a specific type of action. Taking the form as a fake invoice, password reset request, or another type of message that requires the user to click on a link or open a file, a phishing attack can redirect that action towards a webpage or application that executes a malicious task.

At first glance, many phishing emails can appear to be downright laughable, containing questionable spelling or grammar, unusual branding or imagery, or other types of content that immediately give away that the email is not authentic.

But considering that in 2023 alone, the FBI attributed more than $12.5 billion in losses to various types of phishing schemes and Internet scams, even the savviest technology user remains susceptible to clicking on links that can cause serious damage to a small business.

5 Things to Keep in Mind about Phishing Emails

  1. Execute caution when it comes to unexpected or suspicious emails. If an email seems unusual or contains unexpected attachments or links, be wary.
  2. Never click on links or open attachments in emails from unknown or suspicious senders.
  3. Constantly verify the sender’s email address carefully. Phishing emails often use spoofed email addresses that look legitimate or may come from legitimate emails that have been compromised.
  4. Think about if an email is too urgent. Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency to pressure recipients into acting quickly.
  5. Contact the sender directly using a known phone number, if you are unsure about an email.

Do not wait to contact someone if you believe you have fallen for a phishing attempt. The sooner it is known it happened, the less likely anything will come of it.

What is spear phishing?

Spear phishing is a sophisticated, highly personalized attack that’s designed with a specific user or organization in mind. Rather than a broad attempt at tricking any user into clicking a link made through a traditional phishing attack, spear-phishing attacks are carefully crafted in an attempt to seem as legitimate or credible as possible.

There are two primary types of scams that perpetuate spear phishing campaigns:

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Involves a real-looking email address from a high-ranking company official or business partner being mimicked in order to trick a recipient into believing the message is a legitimate correspondence.

BEC spear-phishing attempts often ask users to make a payment or purchase that sends money to the criminal.  They can also look like a meeting invitation from someone within the company.

Impersonation

Involves a real-looking email address from a trusted company, vendor or software provider that asks a user to carry out a particular action, such as clicking a fraudulent link, opening a fraudulent invoice or order.

Impersonation-based spear-phishing campaigns also take advantage of brands like Google, Microsoft, and DocuSign, which offer services and security alerts via email.  Emails asking an employee to complete a Microsoft software update, or change their Gmail password are popular and hard to detect.

In both variations of spear-phishing campaigns, nefarious actors can seek to gain access to property information, money through fraudulent wire transfers or purchases, or private accounts. A successful spear-phishing campaign can also leave behind malware or ransomware that leaves a device vulnerable to future attacks.

How to Protect Your Users from Phishing Campaigns

Cybercriminals usually attack companies through their end-users. When end users unwittingly open malware attachments, click phishing links, or disclose sensitive information online, attackers can easily bypass the company’s existing layers of security to successfully breach its network.

According to a Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 90 percent of network security breaches stem from user error. These are the clicks and malware downloads that keep your company’s security professionals up at night. With as many as 30 percent of your employees unable to catch phishing email, how will you prevent attackers from stealing your company’s data?

There are two easy steps any organization can take to proactively prevent future attacks:

Install anti-phishing software

As its name suggests, anti-phishing software allows organizations to monitor and mitigate potential phishing attacks. Not only do anti-phishing software solutions feature specific capabilities to detect spear phishing campaigns, but they also can also identify other phishing-related vulnerabilities and mitigate threats posed by malware-laced attachments.

Educate users

To protect your company and address tons of vulnerabilities that your day-to-day employee activities create, you need to provide your employees with a comprehensive cybersecurity training program.

It’s important to train employees to spot potential phishing attacks, follow best computing practices, and notify IT departments of suspicious activity.

Security awareness training is a formal process for educating employees about the dangers of phishing or other online threats and what steps to take if they encounter an online threat. If your company needs to comply with different government and industry regulations, you must provide security awareness training for employees to meet regulatory requirements.

With ongoing, relevant, and engaging security education training, such as phishing simulations, security best practices, courses on IT and data protection, companies can greatly reduce their chances of getting attacked due to user error. Security education training and awareness programs ensure that users, processes, and technology are all harnessed effectively together to fight cybercriminals.

Important Topics to Cover During Security Awareness Training

Employees who are educated and aware of security concerns often feel more accountable to help maintain company security.  They understand its importance and consequences of non-compliance.

Strong security awareness training should include the following:

  • Educational content on the different types of cybersecurity threats:  To help employees spot and prevent security breaches, you need to educate them about the different ways that cybersecurity threats can present themselves.
  • Simulated attack testing: Using phishing attempts and the many types of cybersecurity attack methods.  This helps to measure how well employees are complying with company policies and training.
  • Ongoing cybersecurity policy messaging: Short reminders about company security policies often reduces security violations and keeps security issues top of mind for employees.
  • Regular review of compliance specific requirements: If your company needs to adhere to HIPPA, PCI or other compliance standards, employees should be educated during awareness training.

6 Educational Tips for Employees About Email Security Threats

Help employees recognize the different types of security threats that they may find in their email inboxes. Best email practices to stress include:

  1. Establishing and enforcing an email policy that provides clear rules about email usage and what types of business information should not be sent via emails.
  2. Implementing a password policy to ensure all employees use strong passwords, change them regularly, and avoid using passwords from other accounts.
  3. Requiring employees to log out of their email accounts when no using them.
  4. Providing employees guidance on how to recognize phishing scams, and other email threats and instructing them to not open, respond to, click links, or open attachments in an email.
  5. Prohibiting employees from using business email for personal use and requiring them to use corporate email only on approved devices.
  6. Requesting that employees avoid sending business emails via public Wi-Fi.

Adopting these tips can empower employees to help reduce the risks of cyber-attacks and other email security issues.

Teaching your employees how to recognize these types of security scams, and dozens of others can be as simple as security awareness training classes. The free framework is available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) if you’d like to set up your own classes.

DWD Technology Group offers a wide range of end-to-end cybersecurity solutions for businesses throughout the Midwest. For a free, comprehensive security assessment, contact us today!

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