Do Your Employees Know How to Spot a Phishing Email?

Summary:

• How to spot attempted phishing attacks
• The importance of training your employees to catch phishing attempts
• What happens if you open a phishing email
• How to respond if you’re a victim of a phishing attack

Phishing is one of the most common and dangerous cyber threats to small and midsized businesses (SMBs). Your can have top-grade cyber security, but if your staff doesn't know the phishing warning signs, your business can end up on the liability hook for stolen data and compromised security. Fines and lawsuits for each record compromised and hundreds of hours of recovery is just part of the problem. Spotting phishing emails is a critical component of data security. Users must stay vigilant or they run the risk of data breaches or compromised user accounts.

Why is Phishing So Dangerous?

In general, phishing attacks launch through malicious links embedded in or attached to emails or texts. Hackers design these attacks to appear as though they are from trusted sources. Cyber thieves count on impulsive decision-making and fear to prompt users into clicking without verifying the source's authenticity, thus making it much easier for them to launch data breaches. As always, SMBs are hacker favorites because they often lack sufficient cyber defenses, and a lack of training in spotting phishing attempts makes everyone in your company a potential weak link.

What Happens if You Open a Phishing Email?

If malicious code runs automatically upon opening an email, it may not require any errant click to launch, but if your employee is fooled into clicking on a dangerous link, here are some possible outcomes:

• Compromised Accounts: Stolen login credentials can allow access to company systems
• Financial Losses: Stolen credentials can allow access to bank accounts or accommodate fake wire transfer requests or payment detail pilfering
• Data Breaches: Breaches can provide access to sensitive private data
• Malware Infections: Malicious software such as ransomware and spyware might be installed, allowing hackers to view your network data and keyboard strokes

Obvious symptoms of a cyberattack may not become immediately apparent because attackers often immediately steal valuable data and move on. Teaching your employees how to spot a phishing email and the best practices for dealing with them will expand your defensive perimeter.

Q: How should SMBs deal with malignant code that runs automatically upon opening a phishing email?

A: Counteract auto-launching phishing emails through proactive security and rapid incident response. Use tools such as antivirus software with live SOC monitoring and endpoint detection and response (EDR), and segment your network to help limit the spread of malicious code. Additionally, secure email gateways with sandboxing capabilities allow users to open emails and attachments in isolated environments. Your cybersecurity provider can set this up for you.

How Can You Detect Phishing Emails Before Opening Them?

With tech security, humans are usually the weakest link. Hiring IT security experts to provide professional phishing training for all your employees can help mitigate much of the risk. Phishing training is critical to your IT security policy development and must be an ongoing program. Hackers continue to develop new attack methods. Therefore, your staff needs to stay up to date with the latest tricks.

Employees should be taught to focus on these warning signs:

• Odd Looking Sender Address: Hackers use addresses that look legitimate but have very slight differences from the authentic ones. For example, it’s at first difficult to notice the difference between "gmail.com" and "qmail.com." Only closer inspection will reveal the difference.
• Urgent or Threatening Messages to Scare Users: Messages demanding immediate action or threatening negative consequences are common "impulse drivers"
• Suspicious Looking Links: Hovering over links usually reveals the attached URL, allowing an opportunity for users to analyze it as trusted or suspicious before clicking
• Strange or Unexpected Attachments: Attachments that weren’t expected or come from an unknown sender can be dangerous to open
• Generic Greetings: A message containing a generic greeting, such as “Dear Friend” or “Dear User,” is a warning sign that the communication might not be legitimate
• Spelling and Grammatical Errors: Most businesses will not send messages containing incorrect spelling and grammar or use fuzzy, pixelated images

Employees should know that any email can be fake. Even emails appearing to be from a high-level executive or trusted partner can still be fake. Attackers might use a technique called “spoofing” that makes illicit messages appear to come from someone within your organization.

Q: How should small businesses deal with spoofed phishing emails?

A: Spoofed phishing emails are the ultimate trick, but you can help ward them off with a multi-layered arrangement that includes email authentication, advanced email filtering, threat detection, and regular employee training. Working with external cyber security experts also helps prevent successful spoofed phishing tactics. Verify the sender actually sent the message to you using existing phone numbers, never the ones in the suspicious email.

Why Should Phishing Training Be Ongoing?

Cybercriminals adjust their attack approaches when new defenses are developed. They constantly modify their hacks or create completely new tactics. Employee training must be kept current, or your employees won't be aware of the newest attack methods and will be unable to spot them.

Ongoing training offers benefits such as keeping your employees more alert to new tactics, turning best practices into habits, reducing the chances of making costly mistakes and creating an overall culture of cyber security awareness.

No one likes a surprise attack, especially when it’s an inside job, but simulated phishing attacks and other awareness training helps employees recognize threats in a safe environment. These drills will prep staffers for the thrust-and-parry of real world cyber battle. Just as you would before an actual duel, give your staff the best possible training. Consider hiring IT experts to perform a phishing assessment, which will help uncover weaknesses in their defenses and yours. Employees that fail the test need additional training.

Do You Set the Standard for Preventing Phishing Attacks?

As an SMB owner, you must set the tone for cyber security awareness. If you don't take phishing threats seriously, you can’t expect your staff to care. You must lead by example. Start by encouraging open communication so your employees feel they can report suspicious messages. Early reporting will help your IT team mitigate the damage and keep the attack from spreading. All your company's departments should receive phishing training. Phishing isn’t only an IT issue. HR, finance, sales, and operations all handle sensitive information that hackers could target.

How Should Employees Respond to a Suspected Phishing Email?

Even fully trained staff will occasionally receive a bogus email. It's how they respond that matters most. Your employees must avoid clicking on any suspicious links, downloading attachments and forwarding the email to other staff. The employee should immediately report a suspicious email to their IT team or outsourced cyber security service and delete the email after it’s been reviewed and confirmed as malicious. The clearer and more detailed your reporting process, the more quickly threats will be mitigated.

What Happens If a Phishing Email Still Slips Through?

You may already have excellent cyber security for your small business. Maybe your staff is fully trained in spotting phishing attempts. Even so, phishing emails might slip through. In the event of a phishing attack, your IT security team must:

• Reset stolen passwords
• Disconnect all infected devices immediately
• Scan for malware and remove any infections
• Review relevant logs to determine what data may have been accessed
• Inform clients whose data may have been compromised
• Inform your cyber insurer of a possible data breach

A prompt, well-coordinated response can reduce the damage and help you recover more quickly.

Can You Make Cyber Security a Priority?

Cyber threat protection demands attention. Therefore, everyone who logs on to your system must be trained in security awareness (including business associates that access your network). Security awareness needs to be an ingrained mindset and a consistent part of your company's culture. In addition, employees should also get trained regularly on recognizing current online threats especially those that target your industry sector.

Here are a few strategies:

• Make spotting a phishing email part of onboarding for all new hires
• Share cyber security updates related to new phishing tactics in company newsletters or meetings
• Encourage employees to think before responding to suspicious requests, even from managers
• Reward teams or individuals for conscientiously following security best practices
• Remind employees that their own private data resides on the network and must be protected

When employees understand the risks and understand what they must do to avoid them, you’ll improve your overall cyber security posture.

Q: What should a small business do if a phishing email slips through its defenses?

A: Act quickly and follow a structured incident response plan. Report the email to the IT or security team. If there’s evidence of user interaction, contain the damage by resetting credentials, removing malicious files and blocking malicious domains or IP addresses.

Are You Ready to Teach Your Employees How to Spot a Phishing Email?

You don’t want to find out what happens if you open a phishing email, because phishing attacks can be financially and professionally devastating to SMBs. More than 60 percent of small companies go out of business within six months after an attack. However, phishing attacks are preventable. If your employees are educated, learn to control their impulsive clicks and receive professional training from IT security providers on how to spot phishing emails, you can minimize the threats.

Taking action in advance can help reduce your company's cyber vulnerability and risk. Data breaches are very expensive and can take months or years to recover from. Contact a local cyber security provider to start training your staff to avoid phishing attacks.