An exhaustive guide for spear phishing prevention
Are you keen to recognize and strengthen your defense against an advanced cyber-attack? The
truth is that email-based cyber-attacks like spear phishing can be quite dangerous.
The general format of spear phishing attacks emails
The common spear phishing attacks may compel you to log into your file sharing account and review a proposal.
The spear phishing attack may also alarm you by stating that they noticed an issue with your
social media account, and may ask you to follow a set of instructions to fix the issue.
Sometimes, a spear phishing attack email may panic you by stating that an unauthorized
the activity took place in your bank account.
Now, the essential aspect is that you need to recognize the dangers of a spear phishing attack
so that you can seek the necessary spear phishing protection.
What you need to understand is that a spear attack may look like an ordinary email. There is
also a possibility that the body of the email may have an attachment. The objective of the
attacker is to retrieve some of your personally identifiable information.
What you need to keep in mind is that the spear phishing attacks are targeted and the attacker
has already done his bit of research. The worst part is that these attacks are successful in most
of the cases because the attacker does his homework.
Secondly, it is vital that you should be able to identify the tell-tale signs of a spear phishing
attack. You need to make a note of the fact that genuine emails are free from errors. However,
these phishing emails may have grammar issues, and this should be enough to make you
suspicious.
Now, the main issue is that 97% of the people out there are unable to identify spear phishing
attacks so we will discuss some of the best methods for spear phishing attack prevention.
How to prevent spear phishing
Well, we believe that prevention is better than cure. If your company has any intellectual data,
then it is essential that you follow a proactive approach to stop spear phishing. For example, you can opt for a four-phase framework that has several security layers to protect you from a
spear phishing attack.
Making use of AI
The good news is that artificial intelligence has become advanced with the passage of time, so
you can make use of it to prevent the spear phishing attacks. You can opt for an AI solution that
can detect and prevent the attack.
Go for anti-phishing software
It is also crucial that you have anti-phishing software installed on your computer. It can identify
a spear phishing attack that made past your anti-virus software. Go for spear phishing
protection software that offers a free trial so that you can ensure the fact that it addresses your
needs in the best possible way.
Going for Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication is yet another concept that has become popular in recent years.
The benefit of this approach is that it adds an additional security layer over your password and
the username. It is an effective security measure for sure.
Implementing DMARC authentication
Secondly, you should think along the lines to implement DMARC authentication. It is an
authentication protocol for the emails. The benefit of this protocol is that it gives the ability to
the email domain owners to protect their domain from unauthorized access or domain
spoofing.
If you are running a reputed organization, then it will not be a bad idea to have regular security
training sessions also, so that it becomes easy for you to educate your team.
Every little step will make a difference and will contribute towards preventing spear phishing.