Society has changed over the years and with that the way of working and interacting has adapted to these changes. As much as this transformation has brought a lot of progress, it has brought with it some challenges.
This is because the risks of being online are becoming increasingly dangerous for people and especially for organizations, which need to deal with this increasingly connected life of their employees.
That's why social engineering attacks are so harmful, after all, criminals are attracted to people without information who end up exposing data, spreading malware infections, or allowing access to restricted systems.
In this way, knowing how to detect the signs of a social engineering attack helps prevent these actions from succeeding, protecting sensitive data and systems of organizations.
What are the risks of social engineering attacks?
According to reports from Kaspersky, in recent years, about 77% of organizations have suffered a cyber incident. These data are alarming and show how these companies are not prepared for these attacks.
Social engineering, is a technique used by criminals to manipulate and exploit human errors, the main purpose of this technique is to obtain private information and gain access to significant assets and amounts.
These scams are dangerous, as they are practiced from the way people think and act, making them especially useful for manipulating people's behavior.
This is because when the attacker understands what motivates the actions of their victims, they are able to deceive and manipulate them effectively.
Another point that favors these actions is that criminals exploit people's lack of knowledge, taking advantage of security holes such as weak passwords, file downloads, and requests for personal data.
Generally, social engineering attacks have two objectives:
Sabotage: disruption or corruption of data, causing damage;
Theft: obtaining information, access or goods.
Regardless of their objective, the damage that these actions cause to organizations is severe and often irreparable.
After all, social engineering attacks result in the irreparable loss of sensitive data, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of information. If we bring this reflection to the present day, this is a considerable risk.
This is because, lately, data is very valuable and if it falls into the wrong hands it can cause people to suffer serious consequences, putting the trust of consumers, partners and investors at stake.
In addition, negative consequences can have legal, financial, and reputational implications for institutions.
Another significant impact of social engineering attacks is financial and operational losses. Companies may suffer loss of revenue in addition to operational disruption.
It is necessary to understand that risks can compromise an organization, because these attacks result in costs, but above all trust, which is a valuable asset and very difficult to recover.
Why train people against social engineering attacks?
An effective training program can equip people with the knowledge and skills they need to protect themselves against social engineering attacks and other threats.
After all, security breaches are generated by human error and companies need to ensure that their employees are aware of vulnerabilities and know how to protect themselves from these actions.
In this way, guiding them is essential to mitigate risks, after all, with effective training it is possible to educate people about threats related to social engineering, making everyone learn the appropriate habits to recognize danger signs.
Therefore, awareness programs help people understand their responsibility for the institution's cybersecurity and remain vigilant while working with sensitive data and information.
It is important to understand that awareness programs need to cover some aspects and the main thing, be part of people's lives, otherwise, these actions may not be effective.
See below some of these aspects, which need to be part of training actions.
Responsibility for company data
Training needs to make employees understand that they play a key role in protecting data, so they need to understand their responsibility to maintain the security and confidentiality of information.
In this way, each person must be taught that data protection is not only a responsibility of the technology area, but of everyone in the organization. Therefore, training needs to focus on safe practices, such as:
Create strong passwords;
Avoid inappropriate information sharing;
Recognize possible attempts or cyberattacks;
Comply with applicable laws and regulations.
It is necessary to understand that maintaining the confidentiality of information is not only about protecting the data of customers and partners, but also internal information of the organization, such as business strategies, financial information, and ongoing projects.
After all, an oversight, no matter how small it may seem, can generate serious consequences and damage to the organization's reputation.
Understand policies and protocols
It is critical that awareness programs ensure that people understand security incident response policies and protocols.
This is because it is essential that everyone in the organization is aligned and knows exactly how to act in case of incidents.
After all, regular training allows people to learn about the institution's security policies, such as access rules, data handling, and secure communication.
In addition, they are crucial for them to understand the necessary steps in emergency situations, such as identifying an attempted attack, isolating a compromised device, or reporting an incident to the responsible team.
This preparation reduces response time and helps minimize the impacts of an attack.
More than teaching technical procedures, training also helps to create an organizational culture focused on safety.
When everyone understands the importance of following protocols, the chances of errors or oversights decrease significantly. In addition, employees become more confident to deal with adverse situations.
Have a safe online behavior
In a digital environment where social engineering attacks are a concern for organizations, empowering people is just as important as investing in security technologies.
Therefore, it is essential to make everyone understand that appropriate online behavior is one of the pillars to avoid cyber risks.
Awareness programs need to teach people how to use the Internet safely inside and outside corporate systems, in addition to knowing how to recognize suspicious websites and sources, preventing data leaks.
Everyone needs to understand that dubious websites can serve as a gateway for attacks, making it essential that each person knows how to identify warning signs.
The responsible use of email is another critical area that must be addressed in training, after all, many attacks start with malicious emails that, at first glance, seem legitimate.
In this way, teaching practices such as verifying senders, avoiding clicking on suspicious links, and never sharing sensitive information via email helps mitigate the risk of data breaches.
With regard to the use of devices, training is necessary to guide people on best practices when using laptops, cell phones and other equipment of the institution.
This includes keeping devices up to date, avoiding the use of unsecured public Wi-Fi networks, and respecting established security policies.
Awareness of how to use these devices responsibly helps preserve the integrity of corporate systems and information.
Finally, device security should be strengthened with guidance on the use of VPNs and antivirus software. These features are indispensable for protecting company devices from external threats and targeted attacks.
PhishX can help you
PhishX is a strategic ally for organizations looking to strengthen their defenses against social engineering attacks, one of the most dangerous and hard-to-detect threats in today's cybersecurity landscape.
To address this challenge, PhishX offers solutions that combine advanced technology and ongoing education, creating an effective barrier against these threats.
Our ecosystem is designed to engage people in the process of awareness and prevention. An example of this is that our solution promotes personalized awareness campaigns, such as phishing simulations.
Through these actions, employees learn, in practice, to identify manipulation attempts and respond appropriately to possible threats. This approach turns employees into a line of defense against social engineering attacks.
Another must-have tool is PhishX Assistant, our digital assistant that allows people to report and analyze suspicious messages, links, and websites.
This solution automates support and provides a secure environment for analyzing potential threats, reducing response time and ensuring a more efficient approach to mitigating risks.
In addition, with the launch of PeopleX, focused on the digital employee experience (DEX), we integrated awareness with the responsible use of technology in the corporate environment.
This solution complements our products by offering insights and resources that ensure a safe and productive digital environment, promoting both the safety and digital well-being of employees.
Our solutions not only help organizations identify and block attacks, but also create a strong and sustainable security culture where every employee becomes an advocate for data protection.
PhishX is here to turn your team into the greatest asset against digital threats, contact our experts and learn more!
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