Protecting Your Business Against Phishing
Understanding the Threat
A big part of protecting your business, employees, and customers from phishing attacks is by leveraging industry standards and implementing best practices whenever possible. Phishing attacks are a significant threat to businesses, as they can compromise sensitive information, disrupt operations, and damage reputations.
Implementing Industry Standards
Standards like Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) are all intended to fight the prevalence of SPAM by allowing receiving email servers to authenticate the servers they receive mail from. These standards are based in DNS and are relatively straightforward to implement.
Each of these standards ensures that mail servers claiming to be sending on behalf of your domain is authorized to do so. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to your email account and reduces the risk of phishing attacks.
Professional Email Services
You probably get your email through a service provider like Google or Microsoft, and that service includes up to date implementation of these standards. Professional email services like these provide some level of protection against phishing already, but they are far from perfect, leaving open a market for additional security measures.
Content Policies
One major attack method is geared toward stealing information through low-tech methods such as email replies. Tools like content policies available in business productivity services such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and even as a third-party tool from multiple vendors, are invaluable for preventing this sort of attack from reaching a successful conclusion.
Content policies help automate the identification of key information types like credit card or bank account numbers, social security numbers, and other information that should be closely guarded, and prevent this information from being sent outside the organization.
Conclusion
Protecting your business against phishing attacks requires a multi-layered approach that includes implementing industry standards, leveraging professional email services, and utilizing content policies. By following these best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of a successful phishing attack and keep your business and customers safe.
FAQs
Q: What are some common phishing attack methods?
A: Phishing attacks can take many forms, including email phishing, spear phishing, and whaling. They often involve tricking victims into revealing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.
Q: How can I protect my business against phishing attacks?
A: Implementing industry standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, utilizing professional email services, and utilizing content policies can help protect your business against phishing attacks.
Q: What are content policies, and how do they help prevent phishing attacks?
A: Content policies are automated tools that help identify and prevent the transmission of sensitive information outside of an organization. They can help prevent phishing attacks by detecting and blocking the transmission of sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or social security numbers.
Q: Are professional email services enough to protect my business against phishing attacks?
A: While professional email services provide some level of protection against phishing attacks, they are not enough on their own to completely protect your business. Implementing industry standards and utilizing content policies can provide additional layers of protection against phishing attacks.
Q: What are some red flags that indicate a phishing email?
A: Some common red flags that indicate a phishing email include misspelled URLs, generic greetings, and urgent requests for information. It’s always a good idea to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited emails and to verify the authenticity of the email before taking any action.
