Phishing Attacks – What Are They and How to Prevent Them

Email Phishing

The most common phishing tool is email. Scammers create fake domains that mimic legitimate businesses and bombard the targets with hundreds of messages.

• Character replacements, such as placing "n" and "r" to create "m" instead of "rn", are common in fake domain names.
• Additionally, they may use a legitimate name within the local area of each email address, such as sender@company.com, with the identity of the sender showing in the inbox.
• A message that asks the users to click on a link or download an attachment.

There are several methods for identifying phishing emails, however, the users must verify the sender's email addresses every time.

Spear Phishing

The technique known as spear phishing is similar to other phishing attempts as it deceives victims by sending messages from a reliable source.

• Instead of sending generic mail to a large number of users (in the hope that one will fall for the trap), spear phishing attacks target one individual or are focused on a single group.
• Typical targets of spear phishing are employees or IT teams while whaling targets upper management like senior executives.
• HR personnel and IT managers are popular targets because they have greater access levels inside the company.
• To persuade a target to provide private and valuable information, attackers frequently pose as other senior executives or representatives of other businesses.
• After they gain trust, the attackers can exploit the target's authorization to spear phish employees and other valuable targets.

Pharming

Pharming is a more sophisticated type of phishing, so it is more difficult to identify. The DNS (Domain Name Server), which translates URLs from text form to IP address, is taken over by a hacker. When the URL of the target website is entered - the compromised DNS reroutes users to another IP address - typically that of a malicious website that seems authentic.

Clone Phishing

Attacks known as Clone phishing can be quite successful even though they lack the sophistication of whaling or spear phishing. The distinction is that the attacker duplicates authentic emails that have already been issued by reliable organizations, rather than posing as an organization or person to make a fake request.

The attacker goes on to modify the link, taking the victims to a false site designed to mimic a genuine one from the initial email. When users input their credentials, the attacker can get them.

Pop-up Phishing

Pop-up phishing is still harmful even though the majority of company's PCs install blockers for pop-ups. Malicious attackers are able to add harmful code within pop-ups (little notifications that users note whenever they journey to a site).

Using the victim's web browser's "notification" feature is one type of new technique for pop-up phishing used today. The browser displays a notification requesting access to show notifications when the user loads a specific site. When you click "Allow", a pop-up will install malware.

HTTPS Phishing

Nowadays, the majority of businesses employ HTTPS rather than regular HTTP to verify the authenticity of links. Most users believe that clicking on URLs that are encrypted using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is safe. Attackers can utilize HTTPS to make their links appear legitimate and increase the success of their phishing campaigns.

SMS / Voice Phishing

SMS phishing and vishing (voice phishing) utilize mobile devices as targets. When an attacker uses smishing, they send text messages that include false information (as with a phishing email). Vishing entails the con artist speaking to the victim directly over the phone.

The scammer posing as a fraud investigator for a bank or credit card firm is the most likely type of vishing scam. After notifying the victims of an account breach, the scammer asks them to provide credit card data to confirm their identity. As an alternative, the attacker may request that the victim move money to a designated account.

Carefully Analyze the Email Text

Human fallibility is misused by social engineering techniques, particularly when employees feel pressured and respond hastily. Many people follow orders from people in positions of authority without evaluating the message's content.

These are phishing strategies your employees should be aware of:

• Fake order: The phishing email poses as a courier to send the victim to the attacker's website, where they must enter their credentials and log in.
• A fake invoice is a communication that looks like a legitimate vendor asking for payment, and rerouting the funds to the cybercriminal's account.
• Immediate response: When an email requests that recipients act right away, they should take their time to confirm the message's legitimacy before responding.

Train Employees

Promoting safe procedures among staff members is an essential component of phishing prevention. All stakeholders and staff members in your organization should receive training on how to stay compliant and recognize phishing attacks. This knowledge of security serves as a human barrier.

Every employee should be required to follow specific procedures to assess if a message is suspicious or authentic. Continuous awareness training should incorporate interesting resources like instructional movies and visual guides.

Conduct Phishing Testing

A procedure called phishing testing enables businesses to send employees phony but realistic phishing emails to gauge their reaction.

• Phishing probes could assist your staff members in identifying and responding to phishing emails, and their effect is evaluated through phishing testing.
• A constructive objective, like a challenge to recognize phishing emails, should be the focus of your simulated phishing campaign.
• You should ensure the workouts are relevant and helpful to inspiring staff.
• Employees who successfully spot fraudulent conduct can receive rewards from their employers, which serves as a motivation.

Email – Endpoint Security

To automatically identify and stop phishing emails, use sophisticated email filtering software. For extra security, especially in light of the growing popularity of hybrid work, combine automated moving target defense (AMTD) with advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR). By continuously changing the attack surface, this layered defense increases resistance to changing threats and makes it harder for attackers to take advantage of weaknesses.

Managed Detection and Response

To quickly detect and eliminate phishing attempts and other online dangers, make use of real-time incident response, proactive threat hunting, threat intelligence, and round-the-clock monitoring.

Access Management Policies

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to improve the access security. To safeguard critical systems and data, think about implementing a company-wide zero-trust framework that enforces stringent access rules, prohibiting all access by default and requiring ongoing verification.