You've probably heard of a cyber attack known as phishing, and we recently published an article that talks more about the topic. This type of attack attempts to steal personal data or apply financial scams through traps planted in fake emails, banners, advertisements, cloned websites, among other devices . In most cases, they try to pose as trustworthy companies or well-known people to facilitate the scam. For this reason, it has become necessary to apply efficient measures against this type of threat , such as anti-phishing training.
But how does this training work in practice? To help you better understand this subject, we created this exclusive material. Stay with us!
Understanding phishing: what is the origin of this strategy?
In mid-1994, a hacker discovered a way to access credit card information from users of America Online, a pioneering internet provider. AOL was one of the first companies to provide access to the internet, having been used by countless users around the world .
In partnership with other criminals, this hacker, posing as AOL employees, contacted users of the tool in chat rooms. To stay connected, he used account information stolen in previous attacks. These stolen accounts became known as phish.
Because this was real user data, AOL administrators were unable to differentiate hackers from legitimate users, making this type of approach very difficult to control. To optimize their attack, these cybercriminals created a tool called AOHell .
As he advanced and developed these traps, this type of attack became popular, and ended up becoming known as phishing , as it fished for information from more lay users.
Do you want to know more about the concept of phishing? Take a look at this video:
Is phishing the same as spam?
Data security gained even more visibility after large companies became targets of cyber attacks . However, many users still have doubts about how some attacks happen, such as phishing attacks .
This shows us that phishing training for employees is essential to keeping company data safe.
A recurring question about phishing attacks is: is phishing the same as spam? The straight answer is NO!
It is very common to confuse these two practices, but they present important distinctions.
Phishing is a term designated for a type of cyber attack aimed at scams and fraud. One of the most common ways used by criminals to carry out this type of attack is through fake emails , which request confidential information from their victim.
Generally, they come disguised as emails from real companies so that users feel comfortable and end up providing their relevant data or information. This practice plants traps and uses codes that allow the theft of personal data, bank accounts, passwords and other information.
See a very clear example below:
This is a fake email from Banco Santander, which presents content that attracts the victim's attention, and also a link that requests personal information.
E-mails of this type confuse the user and cause concern, making them distractedly click on the link and enter their data.
What risks does this type of scam present?
Phishing is a very delicate issue for companies' digital security . This is because the security tools used cannot identify all threats and cannot control the users' usage profile in order to avoid possible pitfalls.
This type of scam uses people's vulnerability to carry out its scams, so it is very difficult to control its incidence. In this sense, anti-phishing training represents a very important tool in combating this type of attack.
We can see how data security has become a priority in today's world. This subject has gained a lot of relevance in recent years, so much so that new specific legislation was created in order to increase and protect digital privacy. This law establishes norms, standards and protocols to be followed to ensure greater security for the information collected and stored by companies.
When falling for a phishing scam, the company can suffer several losses , such as:
- Impact your image in the market;
- Financial losses;
- Loss of competitive positioning;
- Legal problems;
- Exposure of your commercial strategy;
- And many other problems.
It is essential that managers understand the importance of actions aimed at information security to mitigate problems caused by data leaks. The best way to protect companies is to rely on a combination of technology and education , that is: applying technological resources that help keep information safe, but also training your employees to establish an appropriate internet usage policy.
Is training important?
As we said previously, as important as it is to have technological tools to maintain data security, it is necessary to establish an anti-phishing training process and prepare your employees to avoid this type of threat. It is important to show in a practical way the main points of attention to identify phishing scams, such as:
- Generic greetings;
- Spelling errors;
- Known senders, but not frequently contacted;
- Links to insert personal data;
- Unexpected emails with information about you that can be found on social networks;
- Threatening phrases;
- Sense of urgency;
- Unexpected awards;
- Among other suspicious behaviors.
It is impossible to predict what objectives cybercriminals have with a phishing attack. Whether it's downloading a malicious file within an email attachment or entering your personal information on fraudulent pages, information leakage can cause a lot of problems for a business .
Phishing training helps reduce this risk and keep company data safe. Through this training, employees will go through a continuing education process that will help them understand what phishing is and what the warning signs are that this attack is being carried out. This way, they will be able to determine what are the best actions to take in the face of this threat.
More and more companies are establishing anti-phishing training protocols to prevent the compromise of their employees' confidential information, in addition to maintaining the protection of their devices and preventing sensitive data from being disseminated or exposed.
When it comes to cybersecurity, there is no way to assume that only laypeople or those without adequate preparation are potential victims. Over the years, these attacks have become increasingly effective, mainly because cybercriminals have efficient tools to clone pages and divert personal data.
So, if your company wants to keep your data safe and help your employees identify attacks of this type more easily, anti-phishing training could be the ideal solution.
The company's internet access policy (blocking websites) may be the solution
The internet access policy can be a very useful tool to help employees establish a more intelligent pattern of using the company's internet. With the help of this policy, the company is able to make employees aware of the importance of staying off entertainment sites, social networks and e-commerce, and the risks that this type of access can cause for a business.
In this case, the concern is not only about the productivity of these workers, but also about the security of the data used stored by the company . To make this process even more effective, the company can also use an internet access tool to help keep these threats away from the workplace.
