According to the 2021 Cybersecurity Breaches Survey, 39% of businesses and 26% of charities report having cybersecurity breaches or attacks in the last 12 months.
Among these cybersecurity attacks, the most common threat undoubtedly remains phishing.
What is phishing?
‘Phishing’ refers to the practice of sending fraudulent emails and other forms of communication to trick recipients into handing over sensitive information . The trick with phishing is that the fake communications appear to come from reputable sources, which encourages receivers to do things like disclose passwords or download malicious software.
Phishing is one of the top cybersecurity threats that modern businesses will face today and it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect against. But that’s where our managed phishing response service comes in.
How do phishing campaigns work?
Typically, phishing attacks come in waves with multiple different stages.
Reconnaissance
The first stage of phishing is called ‘Reconnaissance’. This phase of engagement enlists the help of a variety of OSINTs (or Open Source Intelligence Techniques). Using these resources, cybercriminals looking to commit a phishing attack can research potential targets.
The research methods used by hackers take two forms: Digital and Physical.
Digital
- Search engines
- Email harvesting methods
- Use of DNS Records
- Social Media
- Metadata
- Use of Public Records
Physical
- Conducting a physical perimeter walk
- Inspecting rubbish bins
- ‘Shoulder surfing’
Download our guide to physical security for more information.
Breach
After the research phase has been conducted, then a number of attacks can be devised in order for the breach to be executed. The following techniques are most commonly used in data breaches:
- Pretexting
- Phishing
- ‘Vishing’
- Spear Phishing (Inccuding baiting and tailgating).
Our managed phishing response service
In order to help businesses fight against phishing, we offer a finely-tuned, first-class defence service.
We use optimised methodology consisting of information reconnaissance, technology, and social engineers to make sure that the following attack vectors are covered:
- Phone
- Web
- Social media
- Onsite infiltration
Why is managed phishing response important?
Even the smallest opening or weakness in a system is enough for a hacker to compromise your entire network. All they need is a single point of attack to gain full access to confidential information, sensitive data, and company networks.
Should this occur, your organisation may encounter huge financial damage in remediation costs, as well as reputational damage. Once a data breach has occurred, it is very difficult to earn your clients’ and stakeholders’ trust back again. However, training your staff and investing in Managed Phishing Response can help prevent the worst from happening.
Contact us
If you have any questions about any of the phishing techniques listed above, or want to find out more about how to protect your business against phishing threats, contact our team of experts.
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