How You Can Stop Phishing

Your inbox is every hacker’s gateway to your bank account, social security information, taxes, and more confidential information. With the increasing phishing attacks on small and medium-sized businesses, you need to get your guard up. You have to stop phishing before it wreaks havoc on your business.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a fraudulent practice often used by hackers to access personal information of other people or organization. They will send an official-looking email with links or attachments that will lead to a site where you will supply personal information. Phishing emails can be anywhere from a raffle promo or imitating a site you visited to trick you into giving personal information.

Once the hackers access the information they need, they will now use it to get their way to your bank. Some will steal intellectual property or reveal confidential information.

It’s the hackers “fishing” into your personal information. The email is the bait and you are the big fish. If you bite, you’re going to be one of their catch.

So how can you prevent phishing?

Don’t trust a pop-up

Many websites use pop-ups and it’s totally fine. However, you can avoid phishing by being vigilant with what you’re going to click. Instead of clicking on the word “close”, look for the X sign at the top of the pop-up to close it. This is a common trick of hackers to get you to the phishing website.

Use an anti-phishing toolbar

It’s best to use a browser that you can customize by adding an anti-phishing toolbar. This tool will automatically check the site and match it with a phishing sites list. Should the toolbar detect phishing activities, it will send a notification to the user or block the page entirely.

Reinforce your firewalls

Firewalls are your business’ first line of defense against phishing. Always have a desktop firewall and a network firewall for a double layer of protection. It will reduce the odds of phishing scams slipping through your watch. If you don’t have the IT team to perform such reinforcement, it’s best to outsource your IT needs.

Phish your staff

To know if your staff is well aware of phishing, you can stage a “phishing attack” on your employees. Observe if they will be an easy-picking or if they are educated enough to pick up the red flags. The result of this drill will let you know where cyber literacy training is much needed.

Encrypt your data 

Regardless if you have a small business, encrypting your data is a must-do. Never let confidential information lying around for hackers to access. Sensitive information like bank accounts and contact numbers of customers should be fully encrypted. If ever a hacker enters your network, they can’t take any information with them.

Always update your browser

Major browsers like Google and Firefox continuously upgrade their security features to fight off cyberattacks. With this, you should always keep your browser updated to enjoy the new security patches on the system. Ask your staff to do the same or you can auto-update your browser to be sure.