Businesses need to invest in an advanced email security solution to block email-based cyberattacks and nuisance emails. SpamTitan, for instance, will block 99.99% of spam emails and 100% of known malware. SpamTitan includes advanced threat protection mechanisms and machine learning technology that can predict new attacks, along with sandboxing to identify zero-day malware threats.
The problem for businesses is that even with cutting-edge email security, some threats will bypass email defenses and will land in inboxes where they can be opened by employees. All it takes is for a single email to be opened by a single employee to give an attacker the foothold in the network that is needed to launch a devastating ransomware attack.
Technical defenses against phishing such as spam filters and web filters are important for cybersecurity, and alongside robust backup procedures, prompt patching, good password policies, and a next-generation firewall, your business will be well defended, but it is important not to neglect your human defenses, especially considering that 85% of cyberattacks involve human error.
Security awareness training for the workforce has always been important, but with cyberattacks on businesses now occurring at record rates, it is now a critical security measure. Security awareness training aims to teach the workforce the skills they need to be able to recognize and avoid security threats. Training should cover cybersecurity best practices such as setting strong passwords, never writing passwords down, and never accessing the network on a public Wi-Fi network without using a VPN, and other important security best practices.
The importance of training on how to identify phishing emails cannot be overstated. 9 out of 10 successful cyberattacks start with a phishing email. Phishing is concerned with tricking employees into disclosing their credentials or opening a malicious file that triggers a malware download. Attacks may also impersonate trusted individuals to trick employees into emailing sensitive data. Some phishing emails are easy to identify due to spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and too-good-to-be-true offers, but many attacks are not so obvious. Employees need to be taught how to identify these emails, what to look for, and to be cautious when opening any email.
Spear phishing emails can be very convincing. They can be personalized, highly targeted, include the correct branding and logos, have spoofed sender names, and make perfectly plausible requests. Social engineering techniques are used to get the recipient to take the requested action and to do so without thinking, such as enabling content when opening an email attachment. Untrained employees cannot be expected to know about these cyberattacks and scams, and that enabling content in a document or spreadsheet will allow macros to run, which will silently download malware.
Security awareness training is important for everyone in the organization, from the CEO down. In fact, the CEO and other executives are the real prizes in phishing attacks as they have credentials that provide more extensive access to networks and sensitive data, so they need to also receive security awareness training. Providing regular security awareness training to the workforce is important, but so is testing the effectiveness of the training. Phishing simulations should be conducted to see if the workforce has taken the training on board. Simulation exercises provide immediate feedback on how the workforce will respond when a real threat is encountered. If the simulation is failed, employees will need to be given further training.
TitanHQ has developed SafeTitan to help businesses with their security awareness training. The platform provides real-time security awareness training to develop a human firewall to complement your technical cybersecurity defenses. The SafeTitan platform also allows businesses to run phishing simulations to see how effective the training has been and how employees will respond to social engineering and advanced phishing attacks when they are encountered.
For further information, get in touch with TitanHQ and take the most important step toward creating your human firewall.