Types Of Phishing Attacks That Could Harm Your Organization

Phishing attacks are a common security threat that affects businesses of all sizes in every industry. Cybercriminals pose as legitimate authorities and build a rapport with employees to get access to confidential information such as financial accounts, research and development data and new product information. Cyber attackers are so good at what they do that they manipulate victims into divulging confidential data without them being aware of it. These are some types of cyber attacks that you should be aware of to protect your company information.

Deceptive Phishing - Fraudsters send email messages that look like official correspondence and convey a sense of urgency to persuade users to act quickly. You can prevent this type of phishing attack by carefully checking all URLs that are included in messages--especially if they direct you to an unknown website. Generic salutations, spelling and grammar errors and incorrect information are all indicators that the email message is fraudulent. You can also use anti-phishing software to identify email messages that are potential threats.

Spear Phishing - Spear phishing targets a specific person who works for the company. The attacker builds a good relationship with the person and sends a link for them to open. The recipient opens it because he believes the message is from a reliable source. Once the recipient clicks on the link, the hacker can access confidential product information, research and development data, bank account information, etc.

You can prevent spear phishing by investing in reliable phishing software that checks incoming emails for dangerous links and attachments, and by conducting ongoing staff training to teach employees how to recognize phishing emails.

Phish Pharming - In this type of phishing attack, the domain name system (DNS) is redirected from a legitimate site to a “cloned” (fake) site. When unsuspecting users visit the site, the hackers harvest their credentials to leverage in other scams.

To protect your company from phish pharming attacks, secure all corporate devices with anti-virus software and train employees to only enter their login credentials on HTTPS-protected sites.

Google Docs Phishing – Cyber criminals cash in on the popularity of Google Drive by creating a web page that resembles a Gmail login screen. Once again, the intent is to gain your account and steal confidential information. To protect yourself, implement two-step verification on each of your accounts.

Phishing attacks cost companies half a billion dollars a year. Therefore, it is important to learn how to spot common tactics cyber attackers use specialty software to prevent phishing.