Must Know Phishing Attack Prevention Tips

With the professional use of personal devices, social media, and mobile connectivity on the rise, your data is at more risk now than ever before of being bested by a phishing attack. 

In fact, a recent Better Business Bureau study indicates that the odds of a cyber-attack could be as high as 1 in 4 for businesses of less than 25 employees and 1 in 3 for businesses of 25 or more employees. Are you really willing to take those chances lying down?  

Yeah, That’s What We Thought 

Here are five phishing attack prevention practices you need to know to get your security in fighting shape.  

Build Better Passwords 

Sure, it sounds like a no brainer – but take a closer look at your passwords and you’ll likely find they’re not nearly as strong as they need to be.  

As your first line of defense, creating passwords that are as unique as they are complex is the first step to curbing a potential breach. That means requiring your employees to build single-use logins that: 

• Avoid common words and phrases 
• Use numbers and symbols 
• Mix lowercase and uppercase letters 
• Are at least twelve characters long 

Start Security Training Now 

Social engineering tricks like phishing use what your employees don’t know against them. Beat hackers to the punch by enrolling your team in security training today. Digital courses in security best practices offer a wealth of information on common scams to set your employees up with the knowledge they need to identify – and successfully avoid – a phishing attack.  Don’t know where to start? EMPIST’s free baseline phishing test is a great way to gauge the existing threat of a cyberattack against your business.

Suit Up With Software 

Today’s hackers are only getting smarter. Keep your guard up by adopting phishing prevention and training software into your current digital suite. With automated risk screenings, advanced reporting, and phishing email tests, phishing software can help preemptively protect your information in the face of even the savviest of cyber-attacks. 

Use Two-Factor Authentication 

After correctly entering your password at login, two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA) will send a push notification to a designated mobile device, asking you to use Touch ID technology, or send you an SMS code to ensure that the user attempting to access the account is, in fact, the account’s owner.  

A one-two-punch of login protection, enabling 2FA on all applicable accounts, networks, and devices can seriously reduce your business’s liability to identity theft and data exposure.  

Tap In Your Backup 

You can’t win ‘em all. Even with these security measures in place, there’s still a chance your business could get hit with a phishing attack. Guarantee that your information doesn’t get lost in the shuffle by regularly backing up your data into a secure recovery system. 

Keep Hackers On the Ropes 

Designing a strong security program complete with healthy passwords, employee training, state-of-the-art software, and a stellar recovery system is the key to fighting off the threat of phishing attacks. To learn more about how you can improve your business’s cybersecurity, visit EMPIST online today! 

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