Tech

How to prevent phishing attacks? Advice for businesses!

Protecting your business against phishing scams should be a top priority. In the last five years, thousands of small businesses have suffered malware and phishing attacks, and yet, companies are not taking things seriously. Malware and phishing remain key security concerns, and in this post, we are sharing more on preventing both. 

Get your employees trained

Believe it or not, this one step is enough to prevent common phishing scams. The eventual goal of the hacker is to get information they need, and they often rely on a wide range of social engineering tactics for targeting business employees. Conduct regular cybersecurity workshops, so that your employees know the reg flags. 

Safe browsing is important

To prevent phishing scams, it is important to watch out for suspicious files and downloads. For instance, your employee may get an email from a known agency (from what the email name suggests) to download a file to get the full version of a new software for no charge. Obviously, there is a reason why someone would want an employee to download and run that file. Recommend the dos and don’ts of safe browsing for your employees. 

Recommend a spam filter

Spam filters are really handy for spotting emails that come from blank senders and suspicious emails. There are all kinds of advanced and paid options, so recommend one that your employees can use safely. In addition to that, if your employees are not using a password manager, as yet, suggest one that can be trusted. 

Updates are important

All security patches and updates for third-party software and firmware must be installed immediately when available. These updates often fix security flaws, bugs, and vulnerabilities that can be otherwise exploited by a hacker. Similarly, ensure that all operating systems are updated. 

Use multifactor authentication

Sometimes, despite the best attempts, a hacker may manage to access usernames and passwords. However, if you have multifactor authentication, they wouldn’t be able to bypass the same easily. This could be in form of security questions, onetime passwords, special pins, and even biometrics. 

Try email security solutions

Besides placing devices behind firewalls, your company can consider the choice of paid email security solutions, which are quite handy and effective. You need to find ways to locate phishing emails, so that appropriate steps can be taken. 

Get the entire organization involved for avoiding phishing attacks, because it requires a collaborative approach, for which departmental silos must be done away with.