Top 9 tips to prevent Phishing against your Business

Saas, E-commerce, and finance industries are the most vulnerable businesses to phishing attacks.

Imagine this. You're sitting at your desk. Years back, you got your degree, graduated, tossed the graduation cap in the air, shook the dean's hand, and gave a heart-glistening speech about how you're going to use the major you studied in because you took on a heavy student debt (Let's not lie CS student loans are like getting money from a loan shark..). Because you chose this significant out of love to create new things, making magic, you found you were good on the keyboard and strange squiggly lines.

Here you are, in a cab home, thinking of what jobs you will apply to, dreaming: Google? Microsoft? Damn, maybe Facebook. You got home, you miss home, your street. But focus time on making a good resume, no great resume, you thought to yourself.

Fast forward a few months, resumes were sent in the mail, waiting for a response. One day you're at your favourite spot in town, and your friend comes across this article about how to become a successful business owner. You brushed it off, thinking you're an IT guy. What do you know about business? Then it slowly slipped into your mind; why not? Every Major tech company you know and studied about is making money. Does the industry make money? But what can you sell? We produce software to make life easier. You look it up and discover SaaS (Software as a Service). People are selling software they create every month or a one-time pay. You have made a couple of software before, no problem. All you've got to do is find a problem and a solution, then implement it in an easy-to-use, visually pleasing software; easy, right?

Again fast forward to a couple of hard months, maybe a year. Your software is ready to sell. You found the right solution for X's problem, published it, and​ started your own SaaS company with all the bells and whistles. Suddenly you see software like yours​ around the internet. Still, a little bit too much like yours, You're a tech genius doesn't take one to know some 14-year-old kid across the world stole the software and created ​copies of it, and he's selling it for half the price of yours (Hey,​ he doesn't a company to spend expenses on so he's making a buck). It is a problem all the​ marketing you spent on is​​​ going down the drain because of a cybercrime! It is essential to be aware that cyber threats can manifest in various forms, and their ultimate intention is to obtain confidential information.

Your SaaS business must implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy to mitigate this risk. Failure to do so may result in potential compromise and damage to your business.

What is a Phishing Attack, and how does it work

Phishing is a form of cyberattack that does what its name implies. It fishes sensitive information from the target or tries to get them hooked by installing malware to expose their systems to exploits. The attacker usually poses as a trusted or legitimate entity, trying to trick employees into opening a link with a fake URL (beware of misspelt URLs). Phishing attacks have become increasingly refined and often reflect the targeted site, allowing the attacker to watch everything. At the same time, the victim navigates the site and transverse any additional security boundaries with the victim. Most attacks are "bulk attacks" that attackers do not target and instead send in bulk to a broad audience.
Always verify the sender and email's authenticity before clicking on links or entering personal information.

Types of Phishing Attacks

Most traditional form​ of Phishing is where attackers ​use fraudulent ​emails that appear legitimate, enticing ​recipients ​to click ​on malicious​ links or provide sensitive ​information.

A targeted ​phishing attack ​directed at specific individuals or organisations, ​with ​attackers gathering information to make the ​scam more ​convincing.

(CEO​ Fraud): Focusing ​on top-level executives, attackers impersonate high-ranking individuals, like the CEO, to manipulate employees into transferring funds or sharing​ ​confidential data.
"In an article from Mission Critical Magazine, Fintech companies have experienced 2.5 times more attacks in the first quarter of 2022 than in the two previous years. The article also notes increased phishing attacks, brand abuse, and CEO scams across the industry."

(Voice Phishing): Phishing ​via phone calls,​ where attackers pose as legitimate ​entities to deceive victims into revealing sensitive information.
Smishing (SMS​ Phishing): Phishing via text ​messages, where attackers send malicious links ​or request sensitive information​ through SMS.

Cybercriminals compromise DNS ​settings to redirect users to fraudulent websites,​ stealing login ​credentials and ​personal ​information.

Impact of Phishing Attacks, Incidents that happened and the lessons learnt

Your business and employees must be ​​​vigilant against phishing attacks; it's crucial because they can lead to severe ​​consequences, such as financial losses, damage to a brand's ​reputation, and loss of valuable customer trust. It's important to remember​​​ that hackers may sell stolen data on the dark web or use it to commit further cybercrimes, which can harm ​both businesses​ and their clients. Hence, your business must take all necessary measures to ensure protection against these malicious attacks. Awareness​ of phishing attacks is crucial ​as​ they can result in severe​ financial ​losses,​ harm to a​ brand's​ reputation, and loss of ​customer trust. Hackers​ may sell the stolen data on the dark ​web or use it for additional cybercrimes. The following is a description of the impact of phishing attacks:

"According to an article from Economic​​​ Times, Threat actors have been exploiting legitimate SaaS platforms ​​to host phishing ​pages at ​a minimal or no cost to target the​ Indian BFSI​ sector."
"According to Statista, the online ​​​industries most​ targeted by phishing attacks​​ as of the ​third quarter of 2022 are social media (11%), logistics/shipping​ (6%),​​ and​ e-commerce/retail (4%).​"
"​In the 12 months​ 2021-2022 ​from the 2nd quarter to 2nd quarter, the number of phishing attacks ​​using SaaS platforms ​increased by 1100%." ​KnowBe4 Blog
Your business can lose the credibility ​and trust of its ​​clients if such attacks as the following real-life incidents​​ occur:​
"Researchers from Palo ​​Alto Networks Unit 42 have ​reported a sharp​ rise in phishing attacks abusing legitimate software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, ​such as website builders and personal branding spaces, to create malicious phishing ​​​websites that ​​steal login credentials. The data collected by the firm ​shows a massive increase of ​​1,100% from June 2021 to June 2022."
"Salesforce confirmed misconfiguration vulnerabilities that ​exposed numerous ​Salesforce customers' sensitive data. Organisations affected include the State of​ Vermont and the District​ of Columbia's​ Health websites."
"MailChimp, the email marketing platform, alerted customers to a data breach in January 2023. ​The incident​ was the result of ​a social engineering ​attack."
"In one of the largest cyberattacks in US history, over 30​ thousand US businesses were ​affected by a cyberattack on Microsoft's Exchange email servers, the second largest email ​servers in the world. The hackers were able to exploit four different zero-day ​vulnerabilities ​that allowed ​them to gain unauthorised access to emails from local governments to​ small businesses."

• Website builders​
• Personal branding spaces
• File ​sharing sites
• Hosting ​tools
• Form and survey ​builders
• Website design sites
• Collaboration ​​tools
• Link-hosting ​sites
  

Here are nine helpful tips to prevent phishing attacks

Training your employees on phishing techniques, identifying suspicious emails, and the significance of not clicking on unknown links or sharing personal information is essential.

Add a layer of security by using MFA, which requires users to verify when accessing their accounts.

These protocols can help prevent email spoofing and reduce the chances of phishing attacks.

Updating systems regularly and software is crucial as it helps address vulnerabilities that attackers may exploit.

Train employees to be vigilant regarding grammar in emails, sender email addresses that seem off, or requests for sensitive information.

Consider investing in security solutions that can quickly detect and block phishing attempts.

Regular evaluations of your organisation's security posture can help. Address any potential weaknesses.

Protect customer transactions by employing encryption and secure payment gateways.

Watch for any activities that could indicate a phishing attempt or data breach.

What should you do to ensure safety and focus on scaling your business?

Step 1; Develop a defined plan to handle and minimise the consequences of phishing attacks effectively.
Step 2; Look for a source to educate your teams about cybersecurity awareness.
Step 3; Work with a cybersecurity firm specialising more than in-house IT teams in combating cyberattacks, unless and God forbid your business is under constant daily attacks because that's the firm's day-to-day life.

That's where we come in. Microminder CS is one of the strongest, well reputable cybersecurity firms. We wrote this article to inform you that your business falls under a heavy risk category however there are mitigation solutions and we can help you create a defensive solution. This way, you deal with employee training compliance and don't have to manage security liability; the only way is up now! You stumble upon this article on a weekend morning, and you (SIGH) thank god you decided to give one of the best in the field a chance. Visit our website and book a demo call; we will get on board and explain anything missing that your business should implement to your business' security. Microminder is here, so you can scale without worrying about what's out there.