Phishing emails can seem innocent at first, primarily because they appear to come from familiar sources, such as Netflix or Amazon. I mean, who doesn’t love their Netflix and Prime? We all recognize the familiar logos of the services we’ve relied on for so long. So when an email arrives with the right branding and logo, it grabs our attention. The malicious email may read, “we’ve been having trouble with your billing information, and we need you to make an update as soon as possible to continue your service.” That’s just one example of how easily hackers can drag unsuspecting people down to the dark web with malvertising.
Phishing remains the number one threat used in successful data breaches, according to a Verizon Report. Hackers are becoming increasingly advanced with their phishing attacks, putting countless Pennsylvania companies at risk for widespread data breaches and expensive downtime. An unfortunate 60 percent of small businesses shut down for good after experiencing a cyberattack.
In this blog, we’ll go over four phishing prevention strategies you can use to keep your business safe.
Set up Email Security Filters
Phishing prevention is within your control with email security. Email software scans employees’ computers for malicious content, blocking the delivery of potentially threatening emails while allowing safe emails to be delivered. Email security checks for suspicious activity in your email, sorting through inbound, outbound and internal communications to flag potential phishing attacks. Deployed as a cloud service or an on-premises application, email-security tools ensure your employees — and your business — are less likely to fall victim to malware and phishing attacks.
Rely on Backup and Recovery
Did you know that nearly 75 percent of attacks targeting U.S. businesses are successful? With 20 percent of data breaches labeled as phishing scams, hackers are not only increasing their activities; they’ve got a good likelihood of success. But if you’ve kept your data backed up, you’ll increase your recovery time and decrease downtime in case of a data breach. By maintaining backups in several locations and testing often, you’ll mitigate your recovery time in case of a loss.
Employ Security Awareness Training
Phishing sites are found 75 times more often on the Internet than malware sites. And more than one in five data breaches involved phishing. Employees who complete security awareness training are more likely to report suspicious emails to their employers. A report that studied the impact of phishing on businesses found that organizations saw an 87 percent improvement rate in preventative activities, like employees reporting phishing attacks, after one year of training. Instead of being your company’s weak point, your employees can turn into your biggest data defenders thanks to cybersecurity training.
Partner with a Managed Service Provider
Managed service providers, like Graffen Business Systems, can provide your team with comprehensive phishing prevention and a wide variety of other managed technology and security services. Outsourced technology experts are a fantastic asset to any business, as they hold deep expertise in numerous industries and understand the latest innovations and threats in circulation.
Phishing is just one of the many threats your business faces. If you’re not sure where your cybersecurity stands or you are looking to enhance your current strategies, reach out to Graffen Business Systems today. Our passion is protecting businesses and showing them that 24/7 peace of mind is attainable with the right IT partner on your side! Contact us today to get started.