phishing emails what to do if you are a victim

PHISHING EMAILS WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM HOW TO
PHISHING EMAILS WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM DOWNLOAD

Help leadership understand how its lack of attention has a direct effect on the company’s security posture (there are no shortage of reports outlining the real financial cost of cybersercurity incidents:Į/resources/reports/dbir/Įxecutive and senior staff must be made to understand how big a threat cybersecurity is to your organization-“yes, it can happen (and probably already has happened) here.” Paint a picture of likely consequences if the culture-and, hence, staff behavior-doesn’t change. Cybersecurity must be taken seriously by leadership. Is cybersecurity on the leadership agenda?Ĭulture starts at the top. The IT team can do everything in its power to educate staff about security threats, but will those efforts have a lasting effect? Unless cybersecurity awareness becomes embedded in your organization’s culture, you will continue to have weak links on staff. Listen to Dan Lautman discuss cybersecurity on our Reboot IT podcast. Speaking of culture…Ī culture of cybersecurity awareness Must Be Priority #1 If a single user can bring down the entire file server with ransomware, what technical controls could you put in to mitigate the risk? (think: enhanced access control, strong backups, a rock solid response plan).ĭiscuss with HR what type of approach would work best for the individual, your culture, etc. Reviewing the above bullets may also reveal some technical controls for the IT department to implement. That person may need individual coaching and/or an attitude adjustment. Your attention is better focused on the higher-risk employee. At the other extreme, you have a senior-level employee who’s a “local admin” and has direct access to your database-a higher-risk situation.

PHISHING EMAILS WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM DOWNLOAD

If they download ransomware, how would it affect the rest of the organization?įor example, at one extreme, you have an entry-level employee who works in a firewalled part of the network and doesn't have access to anything but the internet-a lower-risk situation.If they click on an actual, real-life phishing link, what’s the worst that can happen?.Do they have the ability to access funds or process wire transfers?.

Collaborate with the HR department to answer these questions: If an employee continually fails cybersecurity tests, assess the risk involved with that user before deciding what action to take. What do you do with employees who frequently fail cybersecurity tests? First, Determine the risk level But, unfortunately, you might have a few employees who just don’t get it: they consistently fail these tests! These few folks put your organization at risk because the chances are good they’ll fall for a real-life phishing email, too.

PHISHING EMAILS WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM HOW TO

You’d hope that after failing a few simulated phishing tests, everyone would learn how to spot a phishing email. If they take the bait and open a “bad” document or click on a “bad” link, they’re provided a notification telling them how they messed up or a training video about their mistake-so they’ll know better next time. The testing strategy employed by these services works for most employees: the simulated phishing tests assess whether they can spot a dangerous email. Remember the day you put cybersecurity awareness training in place-a service like KnowBe4, Sophos, or Webroot? That was the day you thought your phishing concerns were over. Updated from original February 2018 publication.ĭo you ever wonder: Why do some people consistently fail cybersecurity awareness tests? How is it they fall for phishing emails time and again? What does it take to get them to pay more attention and not be so careless?

Phishing emails what to do if you are a victim