what helps protect from spear phishing : 8 Ways to Protect Data
Quick Summary : In this blog we have discussed :
- What is Spear Phishing ?
- What are the outcomes of Spear Phishing?
- What helps Protect from Spear Phishing?
Table of Contents
What is Spear Phishing ?
Spear-phishing campaigns focus on delivering high-quality phishing emails, SMS messages, or voice calls. These campaigns are typically targeted towards individuals or organizations based on their interests, location, job title, or other factors. Because these campaigns are so focused, they’re much more likely to fool potential victims into clicking links or opening attachments.
According to expert insights 81% percent of the organizations reported one successful phishing attack in 2020. The most common type of phishing attack is spear phishing. These statistics show that every organization is on the verge of a phishing attack only if protective actions are taken.
How Does Phisher Attack ?
Before setting up the trap, the spear phisher will collect data about the target person and his company on the internet, social media platforms, and the dark web. This is done to create a very particular scam that gives a false sense of security before stealing the victims’ personal information.
An personal email from the hacker is sent to victim that acts as a reputable business, a coworker, a boss, or a government agency. The details in the email are so accurate that it becomes very tough to spot the phishing email.
Read Also : What is DPA
What are the outcomes of Spear Phishing?
what helps protect from spear phishing | 8 methods to Save Data
After understanding the risks of the phishing attack now, it is essential to know how to be protected from spear phishing. Since the phishing method is evolving continuously, it is tough to spot the threat even by the cybersecurity-savvy person.
So below are 8 critical steps are mentioned that can be taken to protect the organization and the employees against the phishing attack:-
Employees being informed of the spear phishing attacks :
One of the most straightforward steps is employee training to protect the company from phishing attacks. For the most obvious signs, the employees can be trained, so they don’t fall into the trap of this fraud email.
At first sight, everything in the email may look trustworthy, but one sign is that the email address does not match the name of the company they are mailing from.
A security policy implemented with the password considerations :
Every company must have a firm cybersecurity policy in place. Most of the cybersecurity policy is password management.
The employees should never give their passwords to anyone. This is because spear phishing uses social engineering to get as much of the victim’s personal information as possible.
As far as passwords are concerned, most people opt for the most specific passwords. So the best practice is the various complex password requirements in a place. Tell employees not to reuse their old passwords by updating the end numbers when updating the password.
Use Multi-factor authentication and a VPN :
The multi-factor authentication method requires the users to give them two or more verification methods for system access.
This method combines a conventional login and a password with added verification factors.
This method is the easiest and most economical method of improving the company’s cybersecurity. Add some extra checkpoints, and protect your business from spear phishing and ransomware.
Encrypt Files and Keeping Backups :
File encryption saves them from hacking as people with the decryption key can access them.
Some programs can decrypt encrypted files, but they are mostly not practical. So installing the capable encryption system will let you know your data is protected from spear phishing.
Data backups are one of the best practices for protecting crucial information from getting lost; it also saves your business. Having the backups of the flies helps youtube safekeeping them from an attack. It also helps you to understand how the cybercriminal got access to prevent the attacks in the future.
Having up-to-date security software :
Security software is the only lifesaver you need to save yourself from spear phishing. Any unprotected system is vulnerable to the attack of viruses and malware. That’s why it is better to have antimalware and antivirus softwares should be installed.
Monitoring the Relationships :
Spear phishing intends to break the standard communication patterns between people and organizations. An anti-phishing solution can be developed by building a relationship graph and recognizing anomalous messages to pick out the emails that can be the potential spear phishing attack.
Sandbox Attachment Analysis :
Harmful attachments are attached with spear phishing emails that may seem like legitimate files. Inspecting the files automatically within a sandboxed environment lets the harmful files be detected and scrapped from the emails before they reach inbox recipients.
Scanning the Emails :
So many different techniques are used by spear-phishing emails to show that they are legitimate such as deceiving the sender’s email address. So every email should be scanned to know the attempts of Phishing that can detect and stop these attacks.
You may also like our previous articles :
F.A.Q
The best way to protect against Phishing is through awareness and education. Never open the attachments or links in unrequested emails, even if the email is from an acknowledged source. For unexpected emails, be cautious about opening them and verify the URL.
