Keep an eye on your email…

Last week I was searching for other practical tips to pass on to our readers, as well as the different threats to data security in general. As I was reading an article on ESET’s We Live Security on threats that companies need to be aware of, the subject of email was brought to mind, and particularly how cyber criminals use it to attack a business where it is often weakest: its employees.

Although many businesses these days are using Firewalls, Anti-Virus, and other information security standards, it seems attacks are regularly managing to break through. This is because people are often untrained on what things to look for, and unfortunately oftentimes don’t use common sense.

One particular way that thieves have been targeting private data recently is through Phishing and Spear-Phishing attempts, a type of attack that often begins with email. Two such attacks occurred in the past month, one at Seagate and another at Moneytree. Both of these attacks were essentially scams, in which the thief impersonated someone higher up the ranks in the company in order to have a legitimate employee of the business send them private data. Both of these cases resulted in the thieves obtaining W2’s of some of the companies’ employees.

It seems that many people believe that Firewalls and spam filters will catch every threat that tries to enter their inbox, but that is not always the case. Special care needs to be taken when opening email, verifying who sent it and why. Did you start receiving emails from Ray-Ban without ever subscribing for special offers from them? Emails like this may look entirely legitimate, but it’s also very possible that the links within lead to malicious websites that attempt to harm your computer.

Likewise, if someone emails you claiming to be your superior and requesting sensitive information of employees or customers, verify by other means that the person is who he says he is, and actually needs this data. A simple phone call using a company directory can often save the business from serious data breaches such as the two that occurred these past few weeks.

Many of those reading this may be trained on what to look for, but we need to be sure to train others around us. Inform your friends and co-workers about new methods of cyber-crime and the signs of scams. If you receive an email that you know is a scam or may lead to malware, show others so they know exactly what to look out for. The majority of cyber-crime is successful only because of human error, and proper awareness is the biggest key to limiting its effectiveness. So teach others what you know, and we can improve the state of information security.

Have you seen any scams or suspicious email messages recently? Tell us about them in the comments section below!

And as always, if you’d like more information on how Astria Business Solutions can assist you in your Information Security goals, visit our website at AstriaBiz.com