Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to phish, and he will spam you for life!
We have all seen the phishing email greeting you with a $100 dollar gift card to your favorite store. What if we told you that not every phishing scam was this easy to identify?
These phishers might appear to have a friendly face, but really, they are masking their identity to catch you off guard… all it takes is one click, and they are in.
So what can you do to mitigate the risk of getting hacked? Check out these five bulletproof ways to minimize cyber-attacks.
1. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-Factor Authentication is the best way to make sure that when “you” log in, it is really you. In the real world, we carry physical identification cards to prove ourselves on a day-to-day basis.
In the digital space, your identity is proven by one thing: your password.
However, one good password is not enough to stop hackers from breaching your organization. Putting barriers in place to protect digital identity has proven to stop more than 95% of all cybersecurity attacks (2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report).
Let’s say your password is uncovered and a hacker attempts to log in to your account. Usually they would be free to get what they came for, but with a Multi-Factor Authentication, you would receive a notification letting you know that someone just tried to log in to your account.
Through this notification system you can either approve or deny the request to enter your account, thus protecting yourself from a breach.
2. Email Spam Filtering
Eating up inbox space, wasting time trudging through unnecessary messages and inundating your organization’s security with viruses and malware secretly embedded in messages – all of these things can all be fixed with a simple spam filter system.
Spam filtering will help your organization keep unwanted messages where they belong: out of your inbox.
This also quickly solves any potential problems stemming from someone in your network getting overly excited about an amazing deal on sunglasses, only to realize later that it was in fact too good to be true, at the expense of the company’s communal security.
More than half of the emails we receive could be classified as junk or spam, which proves the potential of a security breach happening in just one click. Minimize the risk of cyber attacks, using one simple filter, to set your team up for success!
3. Anti-Virus Software
Every type of operating system is vulnerable to viruses; we have all seen it. With the vast amount of technology at our fingertips, it’s important that we integrate a simple anti-virus solution to not find ourselves at the downfall of a nasty virus.
One may argue that we are all sensible and careful enough to visit only legitimate websites and to diligently inspect links prior to clicking on them.
However, in 2020, unfortunately, it has not been that simple; viruses have proved to become more and more sneakily masked across the internet. By selecting an antivirus solution, you will protect yourself and your company from all major virus risks.
4. Education & Training
Here’s the thing: phishing isn’t the only thing you need to worry about. There are other types of cyber-attacks that can affect your business.
But the greatest defense against cyber-attacks are to provide training and education to your staff.
Every day, as these attacks become more refined, it has become more and more difficult for our automated systems, such as firewalls and anti-virus software, to detect incoming phishing attacks.
Set your team up for success by integrating training; teach your staff how to detect and avoid phishing scams. This includes learning how to avoid clicking on malicious links in emails, opening unexpected attachments, and more.
When an email appears to be suspicious, it is always best to verify that the known user actually sent the email, as opposed to a clever phisher.
5. Back Up Your Data
To compare a phish to a friend can be tricky for many individuals. It is critical to have regular backups to support your data and to routinely test the recovery and restoration process integrated into your system.
The number one source of ransomware attacks is from phishing emails. If your system is encroached upon by a sneaky phisher, meaning that they’ve activated ransomware and therefore are holding all data in your network for ransom, a solid backup and recovery plan will put you in the clear.
The best backup systems provide local and off-site storage with virus protection. Skipping restoration processes and regular backups and can put your business, out of business.
What’s Next?
Are phishing attacks hooking your employees in? It’s time to take cybersecurity seriously. Why not leave it up to the IT experts to take the reins, so you can experience work hassle-free?
