Phishing scams are still the most common type of cybercrime. Unfortunately, as social engineering attacks get more advanced, this tendency is likely to continue in 2022. The numbers are worrisome and the phishing attacks account for more than 80% of all security issues reported.
In fact, phishing attacks have been successful in 74 percent of firms in the United States. Companies must be watchful and proactive by implementing a defense strategy as phishing will remain the favoured method of attack for cybercriminals in the coming year. Phishing attacks have the potential to compromise infrastructure and organizations will need to plan ahead and anticipate investing more money in preventative measures in 2021 than they did in 2021.
Phishing takes a new turn
As cybercriminals get more sophisticated, here are some of the tactics that businesses should be aware of. It will be considerably difficult to distinguish between spoof and legitimate emails. Email recipients may be alarmed by clever subject lines.
Email recipients may be alarmed by clever subject lines such as "Changes to your health benefits" or "Unusual login detected."
Other common methods of attack include denied memberships, fraudulent subscription calls-to-action, and billing and payment warnings.
Furthermore, fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated in their use of false links. Users who aren't paying attention may be scammed into clicking on links that lead to harmful websites. Phishing assaults will be elevated to a new level as a result of social engineering attempts. Artificial intelligence-based tactics, such as copying someone's voice to elicit sensitive information, will become more common.
A good offense is the best defense
The good news for businesses is that they can use artificial intelligence (AI), email security, and cybersecurity training to protect themselves from more sophisticated phishing assaults.
Investing in AI-based preventative tools that track and examine email communications is the first line of defence.
A strong AI solution examines variables like the devices' external senders and employees, who they message, what time of day they communicate, and where they communicate from. This data is then used to create trusted email sender profiles, which are subsequently compared to incoming emails to authenticate the sender and detect and avoid sophisticated phishing efforts. Artificial intelligence-based monitoring software may even scan photos for fake login sites and altered signatures, then immediately quarantine malicious emails so that the end-user never sees them.
Another preventative step is email security. Technology that displays warning banners and identifies problematic emails is beneficial since it allows users to quarantine or mark messages as safe with a single click. Passwords that have been compromised can be used to launch cyberattacks.
Single sign-on (SSO), multifactor authentication (MFA), and password management are all included in an identity and access management (IAM) tool.
Another option to mitigate the security concerns associated with passwords is to use passwordless authentication. This method confirms a user's identity by utilizing biometrics, such as fingerprints, and one-time passwords, which require users to enter a code that is either emailed, transmitted through SMS, or received via an authenticator app.
Finally, a company is only as powerful as its employees, emphasising the importance of cybersecurity training. The first line of defence is employees.
An organization's odds of experiencing a cybersecurity incident can be reduced by up to 70% by boosting security awareness. Security awareness training should always be included in onboarding, and phishing simulation campaigns should be run regularly, at least once a month.
While this may appear excessive, research reveals that four to six months after each training session, trained employees begin to forget what they learned. With hybrid workplaces becoming increasingly widespread post-pandemic, over half of the remote workers use email as their major mode of contact, demonstrating the importance of security awareness training.
According to the FBI, firms in the United States lost more than $1.8 billion in costs due to business email compromise (BEC) or spearphishing last year. Phishing scams resulted in adjusted losses of more than $54 million, according to the FBI. Given that phishing remains a popular type of intrusion, it's reasonable to assume that number will continue to rise.
Organizations may help defend their businesses from being hacked by utilising AI's complete functionality to construct a powerful security platform that detects threats, as well as strengthened email security measures and employee training.
