Understanding Phishing & How To Defend Against It

In today’s digital age, businesses of all sizes face a growing threat from cybercriminals. One of the most common and effective tactics used by these criminals is phishing. Phishing attacks are designed to exploit human behaviour and trick individuals into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, financial information, and personal data. They’re becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it difficult for individuals and organizations to identify and prevent them.

With the world we live in relying so heavily on technology for both our daily lives and businesses you need to understand the nature of this growing threat, the tactics used by cybercriminals, how to recognize phishing attacks, as well as practices for staying vigilant and safeguarding your personal and organization information from these bad actors. Whether you are a private citizen, a corporation, a business owner, or an employee, understanding the risks and taking proactive steps to prevent phishing attacks is crucial in today’s digital landscape.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of cyber attack that has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. It is a form of social engineering where attackers attempt to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, financial information, and personal data. Phishing attacks often use email, social media, or instant messaging to lure victims into providing certain pieces of information that could help further the criminal’s fraudulent activities, clicking on a malicious link or downloading an infected attachment. Once the victim falls for the trick, the attacker can gain access to their sensitive information or take control of their device.

Phishing attacks can be extremely convincing and difficult to detect, which is why they are so successful. Attackers often use sophisticated techniques to make their emails or messages look legitimate, such as using a spoofed email address or copying the branding and design of a trusted company. They may also use emotional appeals, such as urgency or fear, to pressure victims into taking immediate action.

Most Common Types of Phishing Attacks

There are several types of phishing attacks, each with its own characteristics and methods. Here are the most common types of phishing attacks:

Deceptive Phishing

This is the most common type of phishing attack. It involves sending a fraudulent email that appears to be from a trusted source, such as a bank, social media site, or government agency. The email may ask the victim to click on a link that leads to a fake website or download a malicious attachment. Once the victim provides their information, the attacker can use it for fraudulent activities such as identity theft, financial fraud, or hacking.

Spear Phishingooh

Spear phishing is a targeted attack that focuses on specific individuals or organizations. The attacker uses personal information about the victim, such as their name, job title or company, to personalize the email and increase its chances of success. Spear phishing attacks can be particularly dangerous for businesses because they can target high-level executives or employees with access to sensitive information.

Whaling

Whaling is a type of spear phishing attack that exclusively targets high-level executives. The attacker impersonates a senior executive or CEO and sends fraudulent email to other employees asking for sensitive information, such as financial data or passwords.

Clone Phishing

In this type of phishing attack, the cyber criminal creates a copy of a legitimate email and then replaces a link or attachment with a malicious one. The cloned email appears to be from a trusted source, making it difficult for the victim to detect the attack.

Vishing

Short for “Voice Phishing”, these types of attacks involve voice communication instead of email or text messaging. In a vishing attack, the attacker typically poses as a legitimate organization, such as a bank or government agency, and attempts to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information over the phone. One common type of vishing called “number spoofing” uses software to disguise their phone number and make it appear as though the call is valid.

Pop-Up Phishing

Pop-up phishing is a type of attack that uses pop-up windows to trick victims into providing sensitive information or downloading malware. In this type of attack, a pop-up will appear that looks to be from a legitimate website or organization, such as a bank or social media platforms. The window will display a message urging the user to take action, such as providing login information, or updating their account information. The victim may be prompted to click on a link or download a file. These attacks can be difficult to detect, as the credible looking pop-up window may be difficult to close or navigate away from. In some instances, the pop-up windows may even appear to be from a trusted antivirus or security software, further adding to the deception.

Read our Webnames Corporate whitepaper Protecting Against Phishing and Business Email Compromise to better understand phishing tactics targeting enterprises and public services.

Trends in Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are on the rise and have become one of the most prevalent cybersecurity threats. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), the number of phishing attacks has more than tripled since early 2020, from between 68,000 and 94,000 attacks per month to 2022’s Q1 average of 341,000¹.

These types of cyber attacks are expected to continue to evolve and become more sophisticated in 2023. Some trends to look out for include the continued rise of vishing and spear fishing remaining a significant threat. Another trend to watch out for is smishing, where cyber criminals target their victims by texting. Social media phishing, invoice phishing, and tax-based phishing are also expected to be prevalent this year.

How to Recognize Phishing Attempts

Fortunately, there are several ways to recognize phishing attacks and protect yourself from falling victim to them. Here are some of the most effective ways to recognize phishing attempts:

Check the sender’s email address: Phishing emails often appear to come from a legitimate source, but the email address may be slightly different from the actual one. Check the sender’s email address carefully, and if it looks suspicious, delete the email immediately.
Be cautious of urgent or threatening messages: Phishing emails often use urgent or threatening language to make the recipient feel pressured into taking immediate action. For example, an email may claim that your bank account has been compromised, and you need to click on a link to resolve the issue. Be cautious of these types of messages and always verify the information with the legitimate source before taking any action.
Look out for grammatical errors: Phishing emails often contain spelling and grammatical errors, which is a clear indication that the email is not from a legitimate source. If the email looks unprofessional or contains numerous errors, it’s likely a phishing attempt.
Verify the URL: Phishing emails often contain links to fake websites that appear to be legitimate. Before clicking on any links, hover over them to verify the URL. If the URL looks suspicious or different from the legitimate website’s URL, do not click on it.
Don’t give out personal information: Legitimate organizations will never ask for personal information such a login credentials or financial data via email or text. If you receive an email or text asking for this information, it’s likely a phishing attempt. Never provide this information unless you’re sure it’s from a legitimate source.
Be wary of attachments: Phishing emails may contain attachments that can infect your computer with malware. If you receive an email from an unknown source with an attachment, do not open it.

Examples of Phishing Emails

At Webnames, we take cybersecurity seriously. Our team is regularly tested with simulated phishing emails. Here are some examples from our security training program:

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How to Protect Yourself & Your Business

Phishing attacks can be devastating for both individuals and businesses. Here are some best practices on how to stay vigilant and reduce the risk of falling victim to these types of cyber attacks:

Use Anti-Phishing Software

Implement anti-phishing software on your email system and network to help detect and block phishing emails BEFORE they reach your inbox. It enables corrective actions and allows network administrators to create blacklists and whitelists for message filtering. There are several anti-phishing software options available, so it is important to research and compare different options to find the one that best suits your needs.

Keep Software Updated

Software updates often include security patches that address known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit to conduct phishing attacks. Hackers often use a technique called “exploit kits” that target out of date software to gain access to your system or steal your personal information. In addition, software updates often include new security features that can help protect against phishing attacks.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication is an effective way to protect against phishing attacks because it requires users to provide two or more forms of authentication to access their accounts. This makes it much more difficult for a hacker to gain access to an account even if they manage to obtain a user’s password through a phishing attack. MFA significantly improves the security of your accounts by adding an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access.

Use Strong, Unique Passwords

Using strong, unique passwords is an important way to protect against phishing attacks because it makes it more difficult for hackers to guess or obtain your password through a phishing scam. A strong password should be long, complex, and include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. A unique password means that you should use different passwords for each of your accounts to prevent hackers from using the same password to access multiple accounts.

Limit Access To Sensitive Information

By limiting access to sensitive information, you reduce the number of individuals who have access to that information, which in turn reduces the risk of a hacker obtaining it through a phishing scam. This means that even if a user falls for a phishing scam and reveals their login credentials, the hacker cannot access sensitive information or systems because they do not have the necessary permissions or access rights. To limit access to sensitive information, you should implement access controls and permissions that restrict access to only those individuals who need it to perform their job functions. You should regularly review and audit access to ensure they are up-to-date and limited to only those who need them.

Monitor Your Brands and Domain Names

When your brand or company name is leveraged in a phishing attack it can cause long term reputational damage through no fault of your own. While it’s virtually impossible to protect or block every permutation or variation of your brands from being registered and used in a exploits, tools like domain name monitoring, domain registration blocks, and media and brand monitoring can help you know when and where your brand is being used across the web, enabling you take action when infringement or spoofing comes to light. Taking proactive steps to help prevent impersonation and reacting quickly to spoofing can help to safeguard brands from cybercriminals that might want to prey upon customers or users.

Educate Yourself & Your Employees

It is important to educate your team about the dangers of phishing attacks and how to recognize them. Regular communication can help prepare your team in advance of a breach and reinforce the consequences of these attacks for the company’s reputation and the security of company information. Train yourself and your employees to identify and report suspicious emails, text messages, and phone calls. Provide regular training session to ensure everyone is up-to-date on the latest phishing techniques and how to avoid them.

Monitor Your Accounts

Regularly monitoring your accounts for suspicious activity can help protect against phishing attacks in a few ways:

Early Detection – you can quickly identify any unauthorized activity or suspicious transactions. This allows you to take action before any damage is done.
Password Changes – if you notice any unauthorized access to your accounts, you can change your password immediately to prevent further access.
Awareness – monitoring can make you more aware of what activity is normal for your accounts. This can help you recognize phishing attempts that may appear to be legitimate, but are actually fraudulent.
Employee Training – use monitoring accounts as an opportunity to train your employees on how to recognize and avoid phishing attempts.
Risk Assessment – analyzing any unusual activity can help you assess your business’ risk of being targeted by phishing attacks. This can help you identify any vulnerabilities and implement measures to mitigate risk.

Implement A Security Policy

A security policy is a set of guidelines and rules that establish how a business should operate and protect its assets, including data and information. Here are some of the ways that a security policy can help protect against phishing attacks:

Establishes protocols for handling sensitive information: A security policy can outline how sensitive information should be accessed, shared and stored. This can include guidelines for handling and securing passwords, email accounts, and financial information.
Provides guidelines for employee behaviour: This can include rules around downloading software, opening email attachments, and clicking on links. By setting clear expectations, employees are less likely to engage in risky behaviour that could lead to phishing attacks.
Implements access controls: By granting access only to the information needed to perform their job, employees are less likely to inadvertently disclose sensitive information in response to a phishing attack.
Ensures regular security training: This can and should include training on how to recognize and avoid phishing attacks, as well as how to report suspected phishing attempts.
Provides a response plan: Establishing a response plan in the event of a successful phishing attack can include steps to identify and contain the attack, as well as procedures for reporting the incident to the appropriate authorities.

Staying Safe in the Digital Age

Understanding phishing and how to prevent it is crucial in today’s digital landscape where cyber criminals are constantly looking for ways to exploit individuals and businesses alike. By following best practices, such as being cautious of suspicious emails and making sure that your entire staff is educated on various cybersecurity threats, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling victim.

In addition to these best practices, Webnames.ca offers various tools and solutions to help individuals and businesses protect against cybercrimes. We offer a variety of SSL / TLS Certificates with Extended Validation (EV) to help prevent phishing attacks; Domain Privacy that prevents your personal information from being used to target you with phishing attacks; Advanced Management Tools that allows you to maintain precise oversight over all actions taken within your domain portfolio – plus the ability to set up multiple user logins where you can assign users different roles and create/manage child accounts; and fully encrypted and secure email hosting. It is also important to note that all of our servers and data are stored in Canada, which is important when it comes to security and privacy concerns.

By being proactive and taking the necessary steps to protect yourself and your business, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks and help ensure the safety and security of your individual and business’ sensitive information.

Hutsix.io. “Top 5 Phishing Trends 2022.” Hutsix.io, 10 January 2022, https://www.hut six.io/Top-5-Phishing-Trends-2022.