Extract from BIA’s article “Phishing Attacks: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim”
How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks come in many variants. Even if your organization has implemented state-of-the-art email filters, no technical control will stop 100% of phishing emails from reaching their intended recipients. Your best defense against these attacks is to arm yourself with information that prevents you from becoming a victim.
Failure to recognize and avoid phishing attacks can result in significant and even catastrophic consequences. Phishing is often a precursor to ransomware and/or extortion attacks that deprive businesses of access to their critical data and often expose that data. Customers may lose trust in a company’s ability to protect their sensitive information. The consequences of attacks that began with a single phishing email are sometimes so severe that targeted organizations cannot recover.
What is a phishing attack?
Phishing is a form of social engineering wherein the bad actor sends a deceptive email message instructing the recipient to take some ill-advised action. This might include divulging sensitive information, visiting a malicious site, or opening an infected attachment.
