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5 Tips on How to Identify Phishing Emails

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Phishing|5 Tips on How to Identify Phishing EmailsLet us begin with defining and understanding phishing; it is a cybercrime in which a target victim is contacted by email, phone call or text message. The contact is established by someone illegally posing as a genuine establishment or an organization to lure individuals into giving out and surrendering sensitive data such as personal information, banking and financial credentials. The goal of phishing is to trick the recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need officially, like a request from their bank or probably a note from someone in their company and click a link or download an attachment that usually contains malicious software. What separates phishing is the attacker’s pretense as a trusted body of some sort to gain the victim’s faith.

Phishing is one of the oldest forms of cyberattacks, but that does not mean it is harmless. It is still one of the most prevalent and malicious types of cyberattacks to exist. Phishing is one of the most common means of cybercrime and what is worrying is that despite how much we think we know about scam emails, there are still people who frequently fall victim to this cyber attack.

Let’s see how to identify Phishing emails, the subtle signs that should help you spot one and how to stay protected from them.

1. Check if the message is sent from a public email domain

There is no chance of a genuine organization sending you an email from an address that ends with a public domain such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. Authentic and genuine businesses would have their own email domain and company accounts. If the domain name matches the sender of the email, the message is in all totality legitimate.

Another way to check a business’s domain name is to do a quick google search making it easy to detect phishing.

Many of us don’t ever look at the email address that a message has come from, which also holds many clues that can help you spot a phishing email.

When cybercriminals create their fake email addresses to lure people into their schemes, they often have the option to select the display name, which does not have to relate to the email address at all. Therefore, they can use a phoney email address that will turn up in your inbox with the display name of a trusted brand or business.

2. Obvious grammar and spelling errors

If you get an email from a big business or organization, but it contains many basic spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, it is an obvious sign that it is a phishing email. Therefore, you should read the email carefully and check for these mistakes because they serve as clues that help you identify a phishing email.

3. Open attachments with utmost care

Email attachments are necessary and carry a lot of vital information, but they are the biggest threat to your device, and you could end up becoming a victim of phishing. This is the reason why it is essential to scan every attachment in your email.

Email attachments, particularly from unknown senders, can have viruses, malware and other malicious programs that could hamper the security of your system and make it easier for an attacker or cyber-criminal to gain access.

So, make sure to scan all attachments you receive from both known and unknown senders to stay protected.

4. Protect your email by using an SSL Certificate

We often wonder is this website safe? The threat of phishing is growing daily, with websites and emails at most risk of this menace. To make emails more secure and resilient to online attacks like MiTM attacks, you should get Cheap SSL Certificate. Secure Socket Layer gives a safe and secure transfer-layer interaction among two end-users, the sender of the email and the receiver.

Installing an SSL certificate warrants that every communication between the server and browser stays encrypted and secured from external threats. In addition, an SSL certificate encrypts communications on websites whenever it is technically feasible, making it harder for attackers to shoot phishing emails.

5. The message has a sense of urgency

If you receive an email giving a piece of essential news or update and asking you to reply and act immediately, it mostly is a phishing email. But a careful study of such email or message makes you realize that the organization doesn’t get in touch with you by that email address, and you learn that they did not send you a document at all. That is why so many scams and phishing schemes request that you act as soon as possible. It is also common for phishing emails to instill panic in the recipient as if you would incur some heavy loss if you do not act. The email may claim that your account may have been compromised, and the only way to confirm it is if you enter your login details, such as username and password. And with this act, you have just given away your details to the scammers. Then again, the email might state that your account will be locked if you do not act instantly.

So, ensure that you take the time to go through the processes mentioned above and check if it is a genuine email and act only if and when, you are sure. If you are unsure, however, contact the company directly through some other means.

Keeping Your Business Safe From Any And All Threats

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Keep your business safe|Keeping Your Business Safe From Any And All ThreatsYour business is constantly in danger. It might not be imminent, and it might be through no fault of your own, but you’ve got to make sure that you are protecting it. Make sure that you take preemptive measures, and this will ensure that you’ve given your business the best possible chance of staying safe. In this article, we’re going to talk about what some of these measures are, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Online Security

The first thing that we are going to look at is online security. Unfortunately, cyber crime is constantly on the rise, and your business needs to be protected as much as possible from it. Make sure that your network has firewalls, encryptions and antivirus software to allow for maximum protection. It’s essential that you hire an IT expert to set all of this up for you if you don’t know what you are doing. Don’t try to do it yourself to save money or for whatever other reason, because it must be done right.

It’s very easy to leave holes in your security if you don’t know what you’re doing, which leaves your business vulnerable. The whole point is that we are trying to keep your company safe, so all of that goes out of the window if you try to save a little bit of cash by not using an expert.

Pay Back Any Loans

If you have borrowed any money, then you need to make sure that you are paying it back in a timely manner. We’re not saying that people are going to come round with baseball bats and trash everything, but the person you borrowed money from could take you to court if they don’t get it back. Don’t think that they are going to forget about the people that owe them money, because this is not going to happen. In fact, they use exception tracking and other methods to ensure they always know who owes how much.

You need to be careful about borrowing money in the first place, because you wouldn’t want to be in a position where you can’t pay it back. Stick to your payment plan and everything should be fine. You don’t want to lose your business over something like this, and you very well could if you aren’t careful.

Have People On The Door

The final thing that we are going to mention is that you should always have people on the door of your business premises. Nobody should be able to get into your business building without the proper clearance and authority to do so. That is where teams like this come in handy though. Having security on the door will act as a deterrent to those who would seek to do something harmful to your business premises or anyone on it.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you are going to need to do if you want to keep your business safe from any and all threats. Of course, there is more that you can do but this is just to give you an idea of a couple of them. We wish you the best of luck, and hope your business remains safe for years to come.

Why Workplace Security is More Important Than Ever

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Workplace Security|Why Workplace Security is More Important Than EverRegardless of whether you run a small start-up business or a huge company, you must understand the importance of workplace security. Having a comprehensive security policy will not only protect you and your staff, but it will also protect your equipment, products and sensitive data. By knowing which aspects of your business are at risk, and the security options available to you, you can establish a solid security policy to keep you protected.

Why does your workplace need security?

You may not even realize all the ways that your business is at risk, or what you have that someone might want to compromise. Here are some of the reasons that your workplace needs security.

1. Physical assets and valuables

If you base your business in an office, then chances are that you have expensive equipment on site. Even your home office will likely house valuable items that you’d rather not lose. You may also have physical records that contain sensitive client and business information that you don’t want to fall into the wrong hands. Protection from theft is important externally, but also internally. Staff are just as capable of robbery as an outsider, so you need proper measures in place to protect yourself.

2. Cybersecurity

Beyond physical theft, you also need to protect yourself from a data breach or cybercrime. Your business likely stores a lot of sensitive data on computers and cloud-based software. Information includes business credit card and bank details and a bank of client and staff records. A data breach can have devastating consequences for a business, so the more protection you have, the better.

3. How can you make your workplace secure?

As technology continues to advance, there are new and effective security software and equipment that can protect your business. Here are some of the best investments you can make to protect you, your staff, and your data.

4. Access control

First and foremost, you need to implement access control into your workplace. Access control will allow you to monitor who comes in and out of your office and keep out people who should not be there. Remsdaq offers a ton of different Remsdaq access control options from keycard access to coded access and even biometric access. Implementing access control will be the best line of defence for protecting anything within your workplace.

5. Data protection

Your office may have physical protection with access control, but it’s also essential to protect your documents and data. Invest in a quality data protection system with secure access to documents and files. Ensure that only the necessary staff members receive access to the relevant documentation, and everything is password protected. Data protection will help prevent cybercriminals from hacking into your system and destroying your data.

6. End of day procedures

Create solid end-of-day practices which all your staff need to follow to ensure everything is secure overnight. Make sure that each staff member logs out of all windows in their workspace and shuts down their computer. Whoever is the last person on site should be in charge of setting the appropriate alarms when they exit the office. It’s a good idea to assign two people to this task to double-check that it is properly done.

Fending of the Cybercriminals: How to Protect Your Business in the Digital Age

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Cybercriminals|Fending of the Cybercriminals: How to Protect Your Business in the Digital AgeIn the digital age of today, cybercriminals are your business’s biggest enemy. They will stop at nothing to take advantage of both your company and your clients in order to benefit themselves, regardless of the damage they cause. They’ll phish, impersonate, hack, and scam their way to financial success, without bothering to even consider the consequences of their actions.

You cannot allow these petty cybercriminals to bring down the business that you’ve worked so hard to build up. Quite simply, you have to resolve to fend them off at all costs. To find out how that can be achieved, be sure to read on.

Know your enemy

Simply knowing your enemy and getting familiar with the dangers that you face will help you to fend off cybercrime.

Some forms of cybercrime that you should definitely be aware of include:

Partner up with an anti-phishing expert

Fake websites, social media accounts, and email addresses are created by cybercriminals in order to hoodwink unsuspecting customers. Instances of this happening are referred to as phishing attacks, and they are common place on the world wide web today. Unfortunately, the bigger your business’s reputation, the greater your chances are of being targeted by a cybercriminal who specializes in this type of criminality — your company’s reputable name and extended customer base provide them with plenty of opportunities to scam their way to financial success.

Fear not, however, as you’re not alone in your fight against phishing. There are plenty of anti-phishing experts out there, and you should partner up with them if you’re serious about preventing this kind of plight before it has the chance to befall you.

FraudWatch International are one such expert that you could turn to in this instance. The anti-phishing services that they offer include:

  • 24/7 monitoring
  • Domain registration
  • Detection capabilities
  • Layered protection
  • Scanning tools
  • End-to-end solutions
  • Speedy site takedowns

Make sure your employees understand the dangers

If they remain in the dark with regards to all the digital dangers your organization faces day in, day out, your employees could inadvertently end up making it incredibly easy for cybercriminals to hack into your business.

Should your staff members access a virus-contaminated website or open up a trojan email while they are connected to your office WiFi, your whole network could be infected and your personal details could be hacked into — once they are granted access in this instance, you can be sure cybercriminals won’t leave you alone or give you back what is rightfully yours until you yield to their financial demands. For this reason, you need to ensure that the entirety of your workforce understands the severity and danger of cybercrime.

In the digital age of today, physical crime is not the only danger that you face. You also have to contend with cybercrime — fail to tackle it, and an untold amount of problems could befall your business. Take the above advice, and be sure to fend off cybercriminals before they have the opportunity to sink their claws into you.