Cybersecurity Strategies to Combat Phishing

Having anti-virus software DOES NOT give you a free pass against phishing threats.  They do not prevent your users from falling for sophisticated social engineering attacks. No amount of legacy anti-virus software can stop an employee from entering their Office 365 credentials into a devious phishing site.  Or keep an executive from approving a multi-million dollar fraudulent transaction.  Phishing has evolved way beyond just malware delivery. Increasingly, it's a complex, multi-vector con job targeting your most important asset - your people.  Phishers don't always need an infected device to succeed; just uninformed recipients. Here are 4 steps you can take to mitigate risks:   1. 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬: Regular training sessions with mock phishing scenarios can help employees recognize and avoid phishing attempts. This is crucial as phishing attacks often rely on tricking users into giving away their information. 2. 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐛𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: This is a technique where the information presented to potential attackers is constantly changing, making it difficult for them to gain a foothold. It can be particularly effective in protecting against phishing attacks that rely on gathering information about the system or the users. 3. 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐌𝐅𝐀): While MFA is a common recommendation, using a phishing-resistant MFA adds an extra layer of security. This could involve using hardware tokens or biometric data, which are much harder for a phishing attack to replicate. 4. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Invest in a comprehensive, multi-layered, anti-phishing security solution that covers all aspects of your business. That means adding a specialist cloud email security solution like MailGuard, to your email security stack.   Modern phishing protection must blend cutting-edge technology with comprehensive security awareness.  Believing otherwise is the real virus that can leave you vulnerable.

Day (3/50): Cybersecurity Attack Series Social Engineering Attacks: Whaling Whaling attacks focus on high-profile executives and decision-makers within an organization, using tailored phishing emails to steal confidential information or gain access to company systems. Executives should be particularly cautious of unexpected emails requesting sensitive information or urgent actions. How It Happens - Targeted at high-profile executives. - Emails crafted to look like they’re from trusted sources. - Often requests sensitive information or high-value transactions. - Links or attachments may install malware or steal data. Spot the Red Flags - Highly Personalized: Details specific to executives. - Urgent/Confidential Requests: High stakes, urgent actions. - Suspicious Links/Attachments: Hover to verify URLs. - Unusual Requests: Out-of-the-ordinary demands. Protect Yourself - Verify the Sender: Always double-check, especially with high-value requests. - Be Cautious of Urgency: Take your time to validate. - Enable MFA: Adds another layer of security. - Question Unusual Requests: If it’s odd, verify it. - Use Antivirus: Keep it updated. - Stay Educated: Regular cybersecurity training is key. Top Tools - Email Security: Mimecast, Proofpoint. - Antivirus: Norton, McAfee. - MFA Apps: Google Authenticator, Authy. - Phishing Simulations: KnowBe4. - Web Filters: Cisco Umbrella. Stay vigilant and verify everything! Follow Aditya Raj for more of such content! #CyberSecurity #SpearPhishing #StaySafe #InfoSec #defense #cyber #data #threat #learn #security #splunk

I’m seeing some bad habits the security industry needs to break. I was hosting a series of dinners with security practitioners and execs with the theme of employee risk. I’d start off by asking a question - How big of a problem is employee risk in your organization? Typical answers were - “huge” and “we’re consistently cleaning up after users” I’d then ask - How do you understand and respond to that risk? Answers were always - “we assign training to people with bad behavior” and “I just keep throwing phishing sims at them” Which of course I followed up with - How’s that working for you? 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗 —————————————————————— Here’s the deal, if your answer is more training or more phishing sims, you’re probably doing it wrong. Elevate research shows that assigning more training doesn’t improve outcomes. In fact, more training assigned to an employee correlates to worse behavior (a topic for a different post). What does improve outcomes? Understanding context and responding in kind. 💡New hire browsed to a website they shouldn’t? Maybe you just need to nudge them because they don’t know the rules of the road. 💡Contractor whose end date is 2 weeks away trigger a DLP policy? Your standard training ain’t gonna help. Telling them your monitoring does as well as increasing security control policies. 💡Engineer seeing unusual behavior in your Identity, Endpoint and Web Gateways? Sounds like a perfect use case for Conditional Access Policies and automated responses to quarantine risk. 💡Manager whose team is consistently violating policies? Maybe you need to have a conversation and seek to understand. Companies that are smart about how they respond to these risks can see massive drops in account compromise, phishing, and data loss events (we see up to a 70% drop). But, just assigning more training. Not gonna work.

🚨 Attention CISOs and Cybersecurity Leaders 🚨 As we wrap up another week, it's crucial to stay ahead of the evolving cyber threats that challenge our organizations' safety. Recent developments have uncovered a new breed of threats in the cyber landscape: malicious chatbots, known as BadGPT and FraudGPT, emerging on the dark web. These nefarious tools exploit the advanced capabilities of AI, mirroring the technology behind OpenAI's ChatGPT, to amplify phishing campaigns. A staggering increase of 1,265% in phishing attacks has been reported, averaging 31,000 incidents daily across the U.S. This alarming trend, highlighted in an October 2023 cybersecurity report by SlashNext, underscores the sophisticated methods cybercriminals now employ to breach our defenses. As leaders in information security, our vigilance is more critical than ever. The integration of AI in cyber threats demands we reassess and fortify our cybersecurity strategies. Let's engage in proactive measures to safeguard our digital realms against these AI-powered attacks. 🔒 Action Steps: 1. Educate your teams about the rise of AI-manipulated threats. 2. Enhance detection systems to identify and mitigate AI-driven phishing attempts. 3. Foster a culture of continuous learning to stay abreast of emerging cyber threats. Let's not let our guard down as we navigate through these challenges. Your insights and strategies are invaluable in this collective fight against cybercrime. Share your thoughts and let’s discuss how we can further bolster our defenses. 🔗 Stay informed, stay secure, and let's ensure a safer digital future together. Wishing everyone a secure and peaceful weekend ahead. #Cybersecurity #CISO #AI #Phishing #InformationSecurity #DigitalThreats #StayVigilant

Ever heard of MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) bypass attacks? Yep, they're a sneaky way for bad actors to sidestep your extra layers of security. 😱 But fear not! Here's how we can put up a solid defense: 1. Stop using passwords. There are 100% viable and scalable solutions that leverage passwordless without the need to carry a separate device! 2. Don't rely on phishable 2nd factors such as SMS and OTP. Basically if there's something for the user to type in, it can be phished! 3. Stay Updated: Regularly update and patch your systems. Exploits can take advantage of outdated software. 📅✅ 4. Phishing Training: Train your team on spotting phishing attempts. A simple click can be an open door! 🎣🚫 5. Limit MFA Recovery Options: Be mindful of the recovery options for MFA. SMS isn't the safest; consider using a much more secure method.📱 6. Rate Limiting: Too many login attempts? Put a cap on them. This prevents brute force attempts. ⛔ 7. Session Timeouts: Regularly time out sessions, especially on critical applications. Don't give hackers a lot of playtime. ⌛ 8. Secure Devices: Ensure devices used for MFA (like phones) are secure. A lost device shouldn't become an MFA loophole. 🔒📲 9. Monitor & Alert: Always keep an eye on login attempts and set up alerts for any suspicious activity. 👀🚨 Remember, MFA is an amazing tool, but only if we use it right #CyberSecurity #MFATips #StaySafeOnline #MFA #HYPR

There’s some scary new malware targeting Windows devices. It’s a fresh variant of a remote access trojan called Bandook which first made its debut back in 2007. It was basically the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of malware, with a ton of features to wreak havoc. Its main goal? Giving the bad guys remote access to your devices. This new version targets Windows devices, making its way into systems via phishing emails carrying malicious PDF files. Once you fall for it and click on the PDF, it extracts the malware and injects its payload into a seemingly innocent program called msinfo32.exe. This is supposed to diagnose your computer issues, but Bandook turns it into a cyber criminal’s playground. The nasty part doesn't stop there. Bandook goes on to connect to a command-and-control server to receive further sinister instructions. These instructions can include all sorts of actions like stealing info, manipulating files, and even gaining full control over your computer. Terrifying. What can you do to protect your business from this? - Keep an eye out for the latest cyber security threats. Knowledge is your best defense. - Train your team how to spot phishing emails. Always assume the worst with unexpected attachments or suspicious links. - Ensure your Windows devices are running the latest updates and security patches. - Invest in reliable antivirus software to detect and neutralize threats like Bandook. - Educate your employees about cyber security best practices and the dangers of opening unknown files or links. - And, implement strong network security measures and firewall configurations to stop any suspicious activity. If you need a hand with any of this, get in touch. #CyberSecurity #Windows #malware https://hubs.la/Q02gpHhQ0