Approaches to Minimizing Phishing Attacks

Phishing occurs when an attacker appears to be a legitimate person or company via email or another electronic mechanism. The most common phishing approach is an email sent with a fake return address. To the recipient, this message may appear to be from someone they know and increase the open rate.

Chances are, you have been at the receiving end of a phishing attack. This is because for cyber criminals, there is a lower barrier of entry when getting a person to click on a malicious link in what appears to be a legitimate email, than to break through system and computer defenses. These phishing exploits still work after all these years due to hackers understanding their target and utilizing new techniques. These new approaches help them get past email content security filters.

When it comes to phishing prevention, multiple approaches are necessary to ensure a layered defense approach to ensure safety. These include:

• Educating all employees to understand the importance and signs of phishing. While users should see a smaller number of phishing attempts thanks to technical controls, they should be informed and aware of how to detect phishing attempts and have ongoing training.
• Get technical controls in place to protect users. By doing so, employees will see viewer malicious emails in their inbox. Solutions to incorporate include content filtering, email authentication, and threat intelligence.
• Develop and implement plans for technical and human failure. When kicking off this effort, develop an incident response plan. Also, by implementing browser isolation and multi-factor authentication, you can reduce the impact.
• Set all technology up with up-to-date security software
• Back up all data to minimize the threat of ransom-focused attacks
• Have a clear phishing attack report process for employees

Lastly, continually updating and investing in phishing prevention is key. Employees and customers must be protected, and continuous education will help raise awareness and prevent attacks.