How Cyber Attacks Look
IT services providers in Houston can help you identify and guard against a variety of cyberattacks. They come in many shapes and sizes, but they only have one goal: to bleed money from your organization in any way possible.
One way they do this is through what’s known as a “phishing” scam. You get an e-mail from a “C” level executive who informs you that an invoice is due before a certain time, and then gives you detailed instructions on how to pay it. You obey, of course, then you’re called into the office of the individual to whom you must answer and are dressed down formally. As it turns out, the “C” level executive never sent out that invoice— your account was phished.
But the e-mail had the executive’s name! You checked in your employee profile book. How did the scammer get you? Then you look at the e-mail: the name was the same, but the e-mail was different. Instead of saying: “CLevelExecutive@mybusiness.com,” it’s “CLevelExecutive@unkowndomain.com.” Everything was exactly the same, except for one easily missed detail.
Common Types of Phishing
There are three primary categories of phishing:
• Mass e-mail attacks
• “Spear” phishing
• Whaling
A mass e-mail attack sends the same e-mail to a large number of addresses, hoping for a “bite.” “Spear” phishing, on the other hand, happens when a hacker knows some detail about the target to whom the fraudulent e-mail has been sent. This can be done easy enough— they just go online and comb through your social media accounts until they find a way to get you to break company protocol. If you’ve got a wife, maybe they’ll say there was a medical emergency, and this was the only way they could find to contact you. If you’ve got kids, you might get a random e-mail saying there’s been a school injury. In either case, there will likely be an attached file you download, and which introduces a hidden viral component to your company’s system that’s used later for a more successful, lucrative cyberattack.
When it comes to “whaling,” there’s usually a specific target that a scammer has in mind. This was explored at the beginning of this writing. Basically, a hacker will search for credentials of a company’s CEO, then comb through their personal data for months until they find the golden nugget— usually a large amount of money that the CEO is responsible for. Then they create the invoice, and the cash… is history.
Avoiding Cyber Phishing Debacles
If you’ve got the necessary IT services in Houston, it’s possible to help avoid such attacks through a dedicated IT support provider that proactively monitors your operations to ensure such scandals don’t end up bleeding vital assets from your operation.
One provider of IT services in Houston that specializes in preventing such phishing scams is HoustonTech. We offer:
• Professional IT Services
• Cloud Computing Solutions
• Managed IT Services
• VoIP Solutions
• Antivirus and Protection
• Consultation Regarding Best Practices
Sometimes, you don’t know where your security weaknesses are located. We can help you understand where such weaknesses are and how to avoid them. Contact us for services that help you avoid phishing scams and retain your highest level of IT security.