Insights
Insights
In the modern world, there are many types of cyber-attacks that your business will come up against. However, social engineering is one of the most pervasive attacks, the most constantly evolving threat a business can face.
One of the most common social engineering attacks, phishing, has only become more robust, with new technologies making it easier than ever before. With the world becoming more interconnected, it’s essential to ensure you’re knowledgeable about the attacks you could face.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the new phishing delivery methods and the rise in sophistication of these attacks. We’ll also discuss how you can start protecting your business today, including how we can help cover all your bases.
As the world gets more interconnected, scammers have found ways to take advantage of modern technology to take phishing attacks to the next level using newer delivery methods. Where before, phishing would primarily take place over email or mobile, new technologies make it easier than ever for attackers to access new victims.
Microsoft Teams has become a significant player in communications in the post-pandemic world. Many businesses rely on it as their all-in-one communications solution for greatly enhanced productivity and connectivity. Recently, Microsoft has detailed a Microsoft Teams phishing campaign used by attacker ‘Storm-0324’ that hijacks Microsoft Teams to carry out phishing attacks.
This attack is very worrying for many organisations, as it’s attacking on an axis that many employees would’ve never thought possible. After all, Microsoft Teams seems like it could never be breached because it is an internal communications platform, meaning that employees trust teams more.
Similarly, QR codes are another new and commonly used technology for phishing attacks. Because QR codes link to another website, attackers can use QR codes to obscure malicious website links and direct users to malicious or even harmful sites.
QR code scams have become a significant concern for the restaurant industry since the pandemic has forced the implementation of menus using QR codes. Cyber attackers are now using QR codes in PDFs and Word documents to trick business personnel into scanning them. These malicious attacks are known as “quishing” attacks and can be extremely dangerous as QR codes can easily hide the malicious nature of a link or attack destination. Thus, it becomes harder to spot a malicious QR code.
Another common phishing attack is ‘smishing,’ which involves using SMS (texting) to send fraudulent texts to unsuspecting victims. This is not a new technology but has become more common over time as email phishing scams have become more accessible to spot and avoid due to their pervasive nature.
Another essential thing to know about modern phishing scams is that they’re becoming far more sophisticated and increasingly targeted, making them harder to spot.
The rise of artificial intelligence is a massive player in this. Access to a machine that can access all available information online means that attacks are becoming more replicable using automation and machine learning and more dangerously realistic due to the sheer amount of power behind AI.
AI language models like ChatGPT have made it easier for attackers to create highly realistic scams, and Microsoft claims that attacks will only become more accurate.
In addition, spear phishing is becoming a common concern for organisations worldwide. Spear phishing is a phishing attack that explicitly targets individuals using highly personalised attacks, which is far more dangerous than the run-of-the-mill mass phishing attacks that most people experience.
Spear phishing targets specific organisations, meaning your organisation needs to be incredibly careful and vigilant. It’s designed for your employees to fall victim to. Ensuring you’re up to date about how to protect your business is vital here, as any steps you take to protect yourself will help you fight these attacks.
There are several different ways to protect your business from phishing attacks. Unlike malware, these attacks are a bit trickier to fortify against, as you can’t just install an antivirus and endpoint detection software to counteract them.
The most important thing is educating your employees on these attacks and what to look for. By doing so, your employees can also remain vigilant and not fall victim to these attacks. The best way of doing this is by running regular security awareness training. This will allow you to train your employees and keep track of their knowledge, letting you fill in gaps wherever required.
Otherwise, utilising security tools to create as many security measures and checks as possible is also vital. Tools like multi-factor authentication (MFA) will not only prevent hackers and malware from gaining access to credentials. Still, they will also give your employees another chance to stop and think about whoever they’re providing access to.
Other tools, such as SMS/email security and anti-spam solutions, are also good at stopping low-level phishing attacks from getting to you.
Phishing attacks are powerful social engineering attacks that can damage your organisation if not stopped. From Microsoft Teams to QR codes, there are many different ways that phishing attacks can target you, so remaining vigilant is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself.
Contact our experts today if you’re interested in starting with cybersecurity but don’t know where to start. We’ll give you a helping hand and continue to support you along the way.
Get in touch with us now and see how we can help.