Category Archives: Security

Phishing and Social Engineering Training

Phishing and Social Engineering
Phishing, Security, , , ,

Companies have tried many methods to train employees about phishing and social engineering. But after all this time, over 90% of all data breaches are traced back to human error. It seems we haven’t progressed from where we were five years ago! Is it that hard to learn? Perhaps there is a better training method that we can use.

Traditional classroom instruction works for introducing concepts, but it’s not the best strategy for optimal retention and practical application of these concepts in the real world. There must be a better way, such as simulation exercises that will encourage critical thinking in the face of an actual phishing or social engineering threat.

10 Skills to Gain from Simulation Exercises

Realistic simulations can help employees develop skills to elevate your organization’s overall security. Here are ten benefits that your staff can gain from simulation exercises.

Ability to Spot Phishing and Social Engineering Attempts

The first line of defense against phishing is to know what it looks like. Most are cleverly cloaked to look like the real thing. There will always be telltale signs that will let you know these links, download requests, or simple email messages are not to be trusted.

Awareness of Safe Browsing Practices

Just because your computer has built-in anti-malware tools doesn’t mean you can be lax in browsing the web. There are things you must do to maintain security each time you are online, like disabling the auto-fill feature in forms, avoiding public Wi-Fi, and using only https websites.

Creation of Strong Passwords to Prevent Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks

We all know how important it is to have strong passwords for all our accounts. Still, many employees forget, perhaps because of the volume of passwords they need to remember. Simulation exercises can show how easy it can be to crack a simple password. Seeing this would effectively drive the lesson and teach people to create long and complex passwords. These exercises can also address multi-factor authentication and an efficient password manager.

Taking Precautions in Social Media

The average person spends 2.5 hours a day on social media. This is a lot of time with exposure to online predators. You can minimize the risk by taking adequate precautions, such as limiting the posting of personal information, staying away from suspicious apps, and being aware.

Prudence in Downloading Files

Even files from trusted sources can be infected with malware, so there is zero room for laxity. Make it a habit to scan all files before downloading and not open files from senders you don’t know.

Using Data Encryption on Phishing and Social Engineering

Data transfer is such an ordinary thing these days that some people forget to take precautions. Now more than ever, it is vital to keep all data transfers as secure as possible by using the most advanced tools and by protecting all devices used for these transfers.

Practicing Physical Security on Phishing and Social Engineering

Just because cybersecurity is in place doesn’t mean physical security protocols can be forgotten. Through simulation, you can see how incredibly easy it is to get through an unmonitored entry point in a building, or how quickly a hacker can enter a system through an unattended device.

Maintaining Remote Security

Using public Wi-Fi for work can open the organization’s network to the prying eyes of cybercriminals. Simulation exercises must cover home network protection, proper use of VPNs, and safety protocols for public hotspots.

Avoiding Malware Risks

Phishing simulation is a great way to teach employees to avoid malware risks. These exercises will teach them what to avoid, increasing their chances of safety for the real thing.

Taking Action on Suspicious Activities

Finally, phishing and social engineering simulation exercises will teach employees what to do if they become a cyberattack victim. Specifically, there will be instructions on incident reporting, whether the breach has been confirmed or suspected.

Is someone hacking your data? Download our Infographic, “The Top 10 steps to take if you think you have been hacked.” If you’d like, call us and we can talk about how we can customize data security for your unique needs!

Top Mistakes to Avoid When Training Staff on Cybersecurity

Training Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity, Data Backup, Security, , ,

As technology continues to advance, so do the techniques used by hackers. We must keep up with their evolving strategies to keep our systems protected. To do this, regular cybersecurity training of employees is a must. Studies show that an effective training method can reduce vulnerability to phishing and similar attacks from 60% to 10% within a year.

7 Common Mistakes in Cybersecurity Training

You can do many things to get the most out of each training session. But today, we will focus on what you should NOT do because they are counterproductive to the training. Here are the top mistakes you should avoid.

Boring Training Sessions

If the training comprises text-heavy slide shows with someone just reading out loud, then you can’t blame your employees for nodding off in the first few minutes. Not only will they lose interest, but they will also gain absolutely nothing from the training. Instead, use a more engaging approach. Replace text with visuals. Encourage interactive discussions. Have some group work.

Same Program for Everyone

In any organization, members have varying skill levels. With cybersecurity, some employees might be more aware of the latest trends. Others might not even know what phishing is. So a one-size-fits-all cybersecurity training program is bound to fail. You need to address everyone’s level and train them accordingly.

One-Time Workshop

Many still believe that compressing all the key learning areas into one big training session will work, but it will not. You can squeeze as much value as possible into a single session, but there should be a follow-up. Better yet, there should be a series of follow-ups. Ongoing reinforcement is one of the best methods for making any lesson stick.

Focusing on In-Office Cybersecurity Training

Yes, it is important to practice online safety while in the office. But most companies today have employees in a hybrid work setup or working full-time from home. With this being the new norm, the training program must also address mobile security.

Insufficient Leadership Support in Cybersecurity Training

We always say that children emulate the behavior of their parents. The same goes for employees and their superiors. Whatever the staff is learning, the top executives must be as well.

Leaving out Incident Response Training

Prevention is indeed better than cure. However, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about handling cyberattacks when they happen. Employees need to know what actions to take in the event of a data breach to prevent the damage from escalating further.

Lack of Proper Assessment

Cybersecurity training does not end when the facilitator gives their last remarks. You must test the participants on what they have learned with these efficient assessment methods. It could be standard question-and-answer tests or random phishing simulations to check if and how the employees will apply what they have learned.

Final Thoughts on Cybersecurity Training

Before you take your staff on their next cybersecurity training, keep these mistakes in mind and avoid them at all costs. Plan the training program so it can deliver maximum impact. Better yet, you can use a tried-and-tested program created by established and trusted cybersecurity experts to train your staff. That is something that we can help you with.

It pleases us to present the latest tool in employee cybersecurity training—our very own microtraining platform. This method tackles all the important aspects of online security, from threat identification to incident response and everything in between. If you are interested in learning more, we have a demo of the platform that you can download by clicking right here. 

How Hackers Use Social Engineering Tactics in Phishing Scams

social engineering tactics
Cybersecurity, Phishing, Security, , , , ,

Social engineering is quite a buzzword these days in the world of cybersecurity. But what is it, and why are businesses so afraid of it? It is a form of hacking that uses deception and manipulation to get victims to divulge information. Companies have reason to be fearful because social engineering tactics have led to a lot of destruction and millions of dollars in losses for businesses worldwide.

Phishing is one of the most rampant types of attacks these days. It has been highly successful because it uses tried-and-tested social engineering techniques to hoodwink potential victims.

What are these Social Engineering Tactics, and how do hackers use them?

  • Riding on human emotion.

    When people get scared, nervous, pressured, or curious, they are more likely to make impulsive decisions or actions. Hackers bank on this natural reflex to get victims to reveal personal information before they can think about it. By the time they have calmed down and realized the danger, it will already be too late.

  • Establishing credibility.

    People are quick to trust entities that have an established reputation. This includes institutions like banks or vendors, as well as personal contacts. By imitating these entities, hackers can create a credible image as one of the social engineering tactics that potential victims will almost certainly trust.

  • Personalizing content.

    There is plenty of information in the public domain hackers can use to spin a web of deceit to capture their victims. It goes further than simply calling a target by name. They might refer to a concert you have recently attended or a restaurant you love. By creating familiarity, they cause a potential victim to let their guard down and be more vulnerable to an attack.

  • Using lookalike websites.

    Many hackers send out links that lead to fake login pages identical to real ones as one of their social engineering tactics. A typical tactic is telling you to change your password because it is about to expire. The link they send you to is a lookalike site where you can enter your data. It all looks legit, but if you look at the URL, you see it is a fake link.

  • Creating panic-inducing situations.

    When people get into a panic, they rarely think logically. They will act on the impulse to free themselves from the threatening situation as quickly as possible. If the hackers tell them their account will be closed if they don’t click on the link, you can expect them to click the link in a second.

  • Social engineering tactics – Intentionally misspelling words.

    The typo errors and poor grammar commonly associated with phishing emails are intentional. It is their way of dodging detection by spam filters. Since people are not as vigilant as malware detectors, hackers easily fooled many people despite these glaring errors.

  • Attacking during holidays and special events.

    There is a general air of excitement and engagement around these periods, and hackers capitalize on that to boost the success rate of their phishing attacks. Also, timing the attacks with these events gives an illusion of legitimacy, which makes the targets more likely to become victims. This is one of the common social engineering tactics that hackers use.

  • Spreading malware through attachments.

    Ordinarily, most systems can detect and block malware, but if these malicious files get installed into the system through phishing, your network defenses cannot do anything about it. Once installed, malicious attachments can do a range of damage, from destroying your files to stealing sensitive data.

  • Posing as top executives is a social engineering tactic.

    When your boss requests confidential data, you don’t ask questions and give them what they want with minimal delay. After all, that is what a good employee does, right? Exactly! Therefore, hackers have taken this new approach of pretending to be top executives to get easy access to company information.

  • Creating a pretext.

    This social engineering tactic takes a lot of work and patience because the hackers need to build trust. Gradually, they gain the confidence of the victim, who will eventually disclose information more freely.

Final Thoughts about Social Engineering Tactics

Now that you know how hackers use social engineering tactics for phishing, you have the knowledge to avoid an attack. However, despite all the awareness and safety precautions, it is still possible to become a victim. For this, we have created an infographic called “The Top 10 Steps to Take If You Think You Have Been Hacked.” If you think you have been hacked, this tool would be very handy. You can download it right here. 

If you need more information on social engineering and other cybersecurity issues, call us. We will provide everything you need to improve your protection against online threats!

Training Employees to Spot Social Engineering

spot social engineering
Cybersecurity, How To, Security, Technology, , , ,

Social engineering is one of the newest methods hackers use to access sensitive information. Rather than attacking a system directly, this technique relies on human psychology to gain information. This method is brilliant when you think about it because it does not have to deal with going past ironclad network security. If hackers can manipulate even a single employee, they might hand over sensitive information on a silver platter, and the hackers can take control of the organization’s entire system. This is why its important for your employees to learn how to spot social engineering.

Companies must understand that if you can’t spot social engineering it can compromise business security. Reports show that over 90% of data breaches happen because of social engineering. Phishing scams account for 54% of these cases. The good news is that there is a way to prevent social engineering threats, and that is by training employees.

Popular Social Engineering Techniques

There is a lot to cover in training employees to spot social engineering. A logical start would be to discuss the most popular techniques so employees can recognize and avoid them.

Phishing is the most common method because it is easy to execute. It also yields positive results, at least for the hackers. This method entails sending emails that deceive victims into clicking a malicious link or divulging sensitive information without realizing it.

Pretexting is when a hacker gains the victim’s trust through a pretext or a created scenario, which is part of a larger, more convoluted social engineering attack plan. There is also the quid pro quo attack, where the hacker lures the victim into divulging information in exchange for something in return. Tailgating, or piggybacking, is a popular social engineering technique where the victim unknowingly gives the hacker access to a secure location.

Importance of Employee Training To Spot Social Engineering

These social engineering strategies would be much easier to execute if employees were untrained and unaware of the risks involved. The damage could be monumental, as the $100 million phishing scam on Google and Facebook illustrates. From 2013 to 2015, a team of hackers sent numerous phishing emails to specific employees of Google and Facebook, telling them to deposit money into fraudulent accounts. They could collect more than $100 million from this scheme.

Now, even if your business does not have that kind of revenue, you can still be a victim. These days, hackers are targeting small businesses on a massive scale. Every employee can also be a target, from customer service personnel to top executives, so you must conduct training across the board.

Best Ways to Train Employees to Spot Social Engineering

There are several methods of training your employees to spot social engineering. Traditional classroom workshops, either personal or online, are excellent for an in-depth training session. A one-time seminar is hardly enough, though, and that is why we also recommend regular refreshers.

Unannounced phishing simulations are effective in evaluating employees based on how much they have learned. It would surprise you how so many people do well in theory but still won’t be able to tell the real deal when it is staring at them from the inbox. Being bitten once in a simulated attack will teach your employees to be more vigilant.

Final Thoughts

Organizations can achieve a high level of protection against social engineering if everyone is sufficiently aware of the risks and knows what to do in case an attack goes through. Besides the various training methods, you will implement, we strongly advise you to download our infographic, “The Top 10 Steps to Take If You Think You Have Been Hacked.” Print it out and post it on every department’s bulletin board. Be sure all your employees also get their own copy.

For more information about social engineering and how to avoid becoming a victim, call us. We can get you up to speed on the latest preventive measures and keep your company safe from the prying eyes of cybercriminals.