We know that phishing is the gateway for criminals to organizations, in addition, this crime is part of the daily life of the virtual environment, and we all know someone who opened a suspicious message and fell for a scam.
This crime happens in different ways, but with a single purpose to attract the victim's attention through benefits, promotions, gifts, downloads and attractive and sensationalist news.
In this way, cybercriminals are able to extract information such as account data, company documents, confidential information that will be used to commit scams or withdraw large amounts from bank accounts.
Phishing is very harmful to companies, but it is necessary to understand that awareness campaigns must go beyond that. Because there is no point in creating tests or sending communications if the teams are not aware of the problem.
A good data security policy is created through the acculturation of teams, people need to understand the risks, only then will they be able to identify and combat them.
After all, attacks can come from everywhere, so it's essential to understand the consequences of these actions.
How do attacks happen?
The crime of phishing consists of deceiving people by sending fake messages, where cybercriminals impersonate trusted companies or people and launch “baits” to hook victims.
As a result, people end up sharing sensitive information that is used in bad faith by criminals.
These attacks can come via SMS, WhatsApp, however it is more common for messages to be sent by email.
Regardless of the means of transmission, the warning always comes with an urgency trigger, warning you that your bank account has been blocked, your card has been cloned or a message of an incredible promotion that ends in a few hours.
That way, people end up clicking on the links without even questioning whether that message is true or not.
In addition, criminals are increasingly specialized in these crimes, so the domains used to send these reports are similar to the real ones and in this way it is very difficult to identify that it is a crime.
Therefore, it is essential that people are aware of each and every detail, as they are the ones who make the difference and help identify this crime.
Therefore, it is precisely in this sense that awareness actions come in, so they need to be increasingly effective and involve all the people who work in the organization.
According to João Gabriel Bernardes, from our Customer Success team, it is very important that leadership is involved in all campaigns, as there is no point in training only the parts considered most fragile.
After all, people who have a higher level of knowledge and often a higher position need to know about information security.
In these cases, the risk is often even greater, as the data obtained by these people tends to have more relevance to cybercriminals. As a result, organizational risk tends to intensify in leadership positions.
In addition, it is important to note that attacks usually come from anywhere, whether it is a corporate or personal email.
According to Kaspersky's 2022 Spam and Phishing report, customers of parcel delivery services were the most attacked victims of phishing, with 27.38% of all cases accounted for.
Therefore, it is essential that everyone is aware of any and all types of messages and knows how to identify risks.
Therefore, it is necessary to create a smart, continuous strategy that has metrics where teams identify the most critical points and where campaigns should intensify the most.
Why Go Beyond Phishing Campaigns?
As mentioned, phishing is indeed a major concern for companies, but know that it is not the only risk or gateway for cybercriminals in organizations.
There are a number of factors that can put your institution at risk, such as weak passwords, access to fake QR Codes, or public Wi-Fi networks.
In this way, it is very important that you educate the people who work in your organization, only an effective security policy will be able to mitigate the risks.
Another important point to note about campaigns focused only on phishing is that over time employees will be able to identify the domains and know that that communication is training.
This makes these campaigns ineffective and can even have the opposite effect, causing them to become inattentive to the emails they receive.
Therefore, when we talk about cybersecurity, it is necessary to understand that phishing campaigns are only the beginning of an awareness process. It needs to be in conjunction with several other actions.
Thus, employees need to receive constant training on all topics involving information security.
Because, as much as everyone knows how to identify phishing attacks, it may be that some people use a weak password where cybercriminals can act and enter their accounts stealing important data. In addition, they can get careless and join a public Wi-Fi network and allow access to your information.
It is necessary to form a digital society that can understand the risks that involve the security of your data, single phishing campaigns cannot convey the precise dimension of these attacks.
People need to understand that risks exist everywhere, whether it's on your mobile phone or in your corporate email. In this way, it is necessary to create a culture of cybersecurity through communications, training, and rich materials.
All of these elements support and help people understand the imminent risks that exist for an organization.
The key word is undoubtedly knowledge, employees will only understand the consequences of cyberattacks if they are aware of the problem.
For example, organizations can send rich materials on the importance of mobile data security, teaching everyone how important having control over their mobile phone is. In addition, you can create training focused on each area and understand what the weakest links are and how you can combat them.
It is important for organizations to understand that information security must be a priority among their employees, and that phishing simulations alone are not able to mitigate risks.
After all, they are important, yes, but they need to work together with other elements.
The Importance of Awareness
Awareness is essential for the security of companies, after all, there are a number of threats in addition to phishing. As is the case with unsecured access, access to malicious websites, use of cellular data, software updates, and access to public networks.
This happens because, as technology advances, so do the crimes and scams committed by criminals.
Therefore, to keep your organization and your data information safe, you need to implement a security awareness program.
In this way, all the people who work in your institution will have access to constant training and education about the reality of the cyber world, the threats that exist and how to protect themselves from them.
Constant awareness is essential to combat the evolution of threats, after all, new scams emerge every day and people need to know how to deal with them.
In addition, institutions frequently update their systems and technologies, which can introduce new vulnerabilities or changes to security configurations. As such, teams need to be aware of security issues.
Another important point of awareness is the education of new employees, everyone needs to know the safety actions, so that it is possible to apply them in their work environment.
Last but not least, awareness helps employees meet the challenges of changes in the technology landscape, allowing them to become aware of new technologies.
How PhishX Can Help Your Business Go Beyond Phishing Campaigns
PhishX is a SaaS ecosystem that brings security knowledge to everyone, on any communication channel, anytime, anywhere.
It is a cybersecurity awareness solution, its objective is to train people so that they are able to identify and avoid threats that put the security of their data and organizations at risk.
Training
Through the PhishX ecosystem, it is possible to create simulations of attacks and, through the results obtained, create personalized training for employees.
In this way, you can act directly on the pain of your employees, as the indicators help you guide these trainings, making the entire process more effective.
The trainings can be about phishing, about online payments or even privacy policies, we have a collection full of materials that will help in your campaigns.
Reports & Callsigns
Through the platform, it is possible to extract detailed reports on the progress of campaigns, such as:
· Campaign indicators;
· IT Security;
· Benchmarking.
The export of this data is done in a simple way and helps institutions in the evaluation of their strategies, in this way it is possible to know which actions work best and how to improve the indicators.
Campaign creation
In our ecosystem, organizations have numerous campaign models, so it is possible to address various issues and create an effective information security policy.
Through our team, it is possible to create the planning of the campaign cycles, have support in defining the themes and customize each template as you prefer.
In addition, the institutions have the support of our team to assist at every moment of the campaigns.
Get to know the PhishX ecosystem
Cybersecurity awareness, the need to go beyond phishing campaigns, it is necessary to create a security policy for companies to stay safe.
Only education and acculturation will be able to transform people and make us create a safer digital society.
PhishX is an ecosystem capable of helping organizations start the process of cybersecurity awareness and training.
Get in touch with our sales team and learn how to involve your team in your institution's information security strategies.
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