Your employees are holiday shopping online. 

Make sure they don't get more than a bargain.

Americans are gearing up for the holiday season, which is why criminals around the world are already prepared for “phishing season”. With almost half of holiday shopping done online, including both browsing and buying, tricking consumers into following a malicious link can be a very lucrative endeavor.

Companies need to remember that one of the weakest links in your cybersecurity program is your team members. In fact, 43% of all security breaches involve social engineering, and almost all of those incorporate phishing. Consequences of employees falling trap to these attacks could include significant data and financial losses, as well as reputational damage.

According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (VDBIR) for 2017, 43% of all breaches involve social engineering attacks and 93% of those attacks incorporated phishing. Phishing is an attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card information by sending fraudulent emails that are formatted to appear legitimate. This means that nearly half of all reported data breaches started with attacks focusing on what is arguably the least technical point of entry: employees and customers. Multiple IT security reports and our own social engineering testing consistently show that the “human element” is the weakest link in any network. Our own phishing campaigns have shown failure rates that range from 10% to 40%, depending on the complexity and IT maturity of the organization tested.

Check out this article to learn how to overcome the human element of data breaches. If you are concerned that your cybersecurity program needs an upgrade, contact our professionals today.

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