Stay Safe: Defend Against Social Engineering!
Cyber criminals are increasingly using human emotions (usually fear and urgency) to trick their target victims into carrying out actions, such as divulging sensitive information, visiting rogue websites, downloading malicious software, sending money to criminals, or making other mistakes that compromise their personal or organizational security. These tricks can seriously harm your organization’s safety, so it is super important for all of us to know what to look out for and stay careful.
The following startling revelations will interest you:
- Social engineering is the leading cyberattack method (ISACA’s State of Cybersecurity 2022).
- The average cost of a data breach reached an all-time high of USD 4.45 million in March 2023 (IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023)
- A staggering 98% of all cyberattacks leverage some form of social engineering (Firewall Times).
- In 2020, 75% of companies reported being victims of phishing (Proofpoint).
To protect your organization and yourself from the threat of cyberattacks, here are some practical tips:
- Employee Training: Empower your team with knowledge about the threats of social engineering and equip them to spot phishing attempts.
- Safe Communication: Never divulge sensitive information when communicating online to anyone whose identity you cannot confirm.
- Safe Use of Links in an Email or Message: Check for the origin or authenticity of all Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) before clicking on them. Instead of clicking on a suspicious URL, type it in manually in the address bar.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Beyond using strong, unique passwords, fortify your critical systems further by implementing MFA. This could include biometrics or temporary access codes sent through a text message.
- Securing Your Devices in Public: Secure your computer and mobile devices against theft or unauthorized access when they are in a public place or a semi-public environment.
- Software Updates: Regularly update software and firmware of your devices with the most up-to-date security patches to ensure your applications are properly protected against the ever-increasing attack vectors.
- Regular Assessments: Stay one step ahead by conducting routine security assessments and penetration tests to uncover vulnerabilities.
- Incident Response Plan: Establish a resilient incident response plan, ready to mitigate damage in the event of a breach.
- Use of Cybersecurity Tools: Besides employee training on social engineering, it is essential that you consider implementing some of the following cybersecurity solutions to mitigate social engineering related attacks.
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- Use firewalls, antivirus, anti-malware, spam filters and secure email gateways to stop phishing attacks, prevent business email compromise (BEC) and to keep malicious traffic to a minimum.
- Enhance the security of your endpoints with advanced detection and response solutions, including endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR). These can help your security teams quickly detect and neutralize security threats that infect the network via social engineering tactics.
To discuss with our experts or schedule a demo session for cybersecurity solutions, kindly send an email to info@kropmann.com.