Phishing attacks are when bad actors send fake messages that look real, often through email, pretending to be from a trustworthy source. Their aim is to trick people into giving away important information like credit card details or passwords, or to install harmful software on the person’s computer. Phishing is a common kind of cyberattack, and it’s important for everyone to know about it to stay safe online.
How does phishing work?
Phishing works by tricking people through fake emails or messages that look real and seem to be from a trusted sender. The goal is to get the person to give away private information or click on a harmful website. Sometimes, the attackers also install harmful software on the person’s computer.
What are the dangers of phishing attacks?
The dangers of phishing include stealing credit card details or personal information for financial gain. In more advanced attacks, phishing is used to gather login details for specific companies, leading to more serious cybercrimes like ransomware attacks.
What are the different ways to protect against phishing attacks?
User Education: Teach everyone in your organisation, including top executives, how to recognise phishing emails and what to do if they receive one. Practice with simulation exercises to see how well employees respond.
Security Technology: Use various cybersecurity technologies together to reduce the number and impact of phishing attacks. This includes email and web security, malware protection, monitoring user behaviour, and controlling access to sensitive information.
Now that you know about the different phishing attacks, let’s understand about cyber security and how to insure against these attacks.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity means protecting computers, phones, electronic systems, networks, and data from harmful attacks. It’s also called IT security or electronic information security. This term is used in different situations, like in businesses or on mobile devices, and can be sorted into a few common types.
Application security: This focuses on keeping software and devices safe from threats. Making sure that the programs and devices are secure starts from the beginning, during the design phase, long before they are actually used.
Information security: This shields the integrity and privacy of data, whether it’s stored or being sent from one place to another.
Operational security: This involves the processes and decisions made to handle and protect data. It includes determining who has permission to access a network and the rules about where and how data can be stored or shared.
Disaster recovery and business continuity: These are plans for how an organisation reacts when something bad happens, like a cyber-attack. Disaster recovery plans explain how the organisation gets back to normal after an incident. Business continuity is a plan to keep the organisation running, even if some things are missing.
End-user education: This is about teaching people, who are often the most unpredictable part of cybersecurity. People might unknowingly introduce a virus into a safe system if they don’t follow good security practices. So, teaching users things like not opening suspicious email attachments or plugging in unknown USB drives is really important for keeping any organisation secure.
What is Cyber Insurance?
Cyber insurance, also known as cyber liability or cyber security insurance, is a kind of agreement that a business or individual can buy to lower the financial risks linked with online activities. By paying a regular fee, the insurance policy shifts some of the risks to the insurance company. Cybersecurity insurance policies can vary month by month due to the ever-changing nature of cyber risks. Unlike more established insurance plans, those offering cyber insurance have less data to predict coverage, rates, and premiums.
Cyber insurance and Phishing
Cyber threats are on the rise due to the large amount of personal data we share online. Cyber risks like extortion, phishing, and stalking have emerged due to the complex systems that store and transmit this data, especially with many websites having vulnerable security setups.
One common cybercrime is phishing, where deceptive emails or messages trick individuals into providing confidential information. These often pretend to be important updates or reward claims, targeting details like bank accounts, credit cards, and identity documents.
Fortunately, cyber insurance policies include coverage for phishing incidents. If someone insured falls victim to phishing, resulting in a financial loss, the cyber insurance provider compensates for it. This coverage not only includes losses from bank accounts and digital wallets but also covers legal expenses for filing a case against the culprit, including consultation fees and other miscellaneous costs related to the legal process.