How to Avoid Phishing While Working From Home | Antivirus

 After the period of a health crisis that we have just passed, most of the employees have returned to their offices. This period allowed us to develop teleworking. Indeed, several companies have decided in the more or less long term to grant teleworking time to their employees. However, as employees are remote, an increase in cyber attacks is possible. Thus, according to Orange Cyberdéfense, cyber-attacks have increased by 20 to 25% since the start of the COVID 19 epidemic (in March). Among them, phishing seems to be positioned as one of the main threats.

What is Phishing/Phishing?

Phishing/phishing is a technique used by fraudsters to obtain personal information. The means used are identity theft. Indeed, the attack is most frequently based on the counterfeiting of a website and an email (that of a bank, a merchant site, and administration, etc.). The fraudster generally tries to '' get in touch with your target with an email with an alarmist subject: "Your account will expire", "You have just made a purchase", etc. These emails seem to come from a reliable and trusted source for the target (bank, taxes, administration, telephone operator, etc.) and invite to download an attachment often presented as an invoice or to click on a link to a site counterfeit.

The Different Forms of Phishing a Business Can Fall Victim to

There are many types of attacks, which evolve over time and with the technologies available, and which can be more or less elaborate depending on the target, and the issue. Indeed, there are targeted attacks, with specific means put in place to trap the victim (s), and "mass" attacks, to obtain a low percentage of success by attacking a very large number of victims.

Phishing is a special type of attack that attempts to retrieve information about your business, you, or any sensitive information. Obviously, hackers try to steal money as a priority, but not that ... it can also be an account that has access to confidential documents, connections on social networks, etc.

Some Phishing Attacks:

1. Counterfeiting of a Website

It is not uncommon to get phished because of a fake website. These primarily affect banking establishments and e-commerce sites. One of the most used practices is the so-called “typosquatté” domain. In this case, the name of a high traffic site is misspelled. Attention, the small green padlock present in the browser, when you make a purchase for example, simply guarantees that the communication between your browser and the site is encrypted, but in no case that the site is "trusted".

2. Alert Emails

Just like websites, emails can be hijacked for the purpose of phishing users. It is not uncommon for the name of a company or an institution to be misused. These emails can take on an alarmist character. The subject lines of these emails can for example be “Your account will expire soon” or “Please confirm your identity.”

For companies, this can be an ISP such as Orange or Free, an OVH-type domain name provider, or any other organization linked to a company service, which can easily be retrieved. In the same spirit, the "spear-phishing ”targets a particular person or company with the aim of course of making him click on a link contained in the email received and then steal data. We are therefore in the context of a targeted attack. The key functions of companies are targeted, thanks to Linkedin and Viadeo for example, with CFOs, RAFs, Accountants, CEOs, CEOs, CIOs, etc.

Other Types of Phishing

Among other phishing attacks, there is also the recovery of credentials. To achieve this, cybercriminals create fake ID portals or redirect traffic from one site to another. In other situations, fraudsters use the profiles of relatives to gain the trust of their victims and steal sensitive information. This is called "smishing" if text messages are used or "wishing" when cybercriminals use the WhatsApp application.

In the event of phishing, act quickly! The first reflex to have is to contact your banking establishment (s). It is also possible to denounce the fraud on the PHAROS platform and file a pre-complaint online. The offense is punishable by law, fraudsters risk a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and up to € 350,000. fine.

How to Recognize a Phishing Attempt?

To recognize a phishing attempt, you must be attentive to faulty links, alerts from your antivirus, spelling errors, and emails that are not personal. You must be particularly vigilant on the site address (https: // ....) mentioned in the suspicious email and do not hesitate to compare it with the official website of the organization concerned. For example in the case of a bank, the fraudulent link will be https: //www.mabanque.csite.ko instead of https://www.mabanque.com

For more advanced users, the detailed email header is also rich in information because it indicates the route followed by the email on the various Internet servers. In general, it is a bundle of clues that put the chip in the ear, and not a single element. The golden rule is never to click on a link if you have the slightest doubt Context is important, if in doubt, please do not hesitate to contact your IT department.

Is the Risk of Phishing Higher in Telecommuting?

Teleworking has made electronic exchanges more present and has further increased the risk of cyberattacks in the broad sense. In a June 2020 report (Mobile Phishing Spotlight Report), it appears that phishing attacks on mobile devices in companies have jumped 37% in the first half of the year. Moving from business to home, teleworkers have used their mobiles and have no longer been protected by their company's internal security infrastructures, and cybercriminals know it. It is not surprising in these conditions that the criminals are also interested in the motives. From their perspective, mobile phishing is often the cheapest way to compromise an individual or an organization.

The use of endpoints “out of IT's control” is an aggravating risk factor because security is not managed, and it can be too weak or even nonexistent. The other risk is the control of the user's identity, in the event of information theft, remote connections to the Information System cannot be identified as illegitimate. Two-factor authentication makes it possible to reinforce the security of the Information System when working from home, but in no way prevents phishing per se.