An employee innocently clicks on what appears to be an official email and then goes about the rest of their tasks for the day as if its business as usual, or is it?
Unfortunately, that email was a scam. It’s what we refer to in the cyber security world as a phishing email. It’s one of the primary ways hacker groups spread viruses and deliver malware into your system. Only to then most likely ransom your company for money.
We know, it sounds like a spy movie and something that would never happen to you. Although, it’s happening to Australian businesses every day and attacks rose by 20% just in Q1 of 2020. The amount of phishing scam emails due to COVID alone has increased by 650%. Sadly, small and medium-size businesses are a perfect target for hackers because most do not have the systems in place to protect themselves.
Phishing emails and software updates are used to target the weakest link in the cyber security chain: people. So, you need to stop it at the source through cyber security employee training. Help your employees help you. Teach them how to spot emails from unknown-senders, emails containing suspicious files as attachments or emails containing a link pretending to be a user update but it’s really malware.
Another simple, fast way to apply a layer of protection for your employees is to have them all download the XSurf Log extension today. Once installed, it instantly helps you manage the risk between your employees and the internet by notifying if a website is a suspected phishing site. As well, as providing an easy place to report phishing websites.
However, the most recommended and ultimate protection is hiring an expert in cyber security. Someone who specifically works with local companies to train their employees, set-up systems to stop a cyber attack from happening and detect if an incident is happening and the fastest, best next steps to recover from the attack.
