Phishing emails remain the most common way hackers access your organization’s environment. So – recognizing phishing emails is important!
Why? Because it’s easier to get past humans than technology. Software manufacturers are releasing more secure software and it’s increasingly difficult and expensive for hackers to exploit software vulnerabilities. On the other hand, it’s cheaper (and easier) to simply trick a user into clicking a malicious link or opening an attachment in a phishing email to gain access into your organization’s environment. Therefore, hackers are focusing on making their phishing emails harder to spot.
Common Signs of a Phishing Email
- Your name is missing as an addressee in the email.
- Be suspicious of any email that requests your username/password or any personal information.
- Bad grammar and poor spelling.
- Short emails that threaten or otherwise create urgency to act.
- Hover your mouse over any website links and you should see the actual hyperlinked address. If the actual address is different from the displayed address, the message is likely malicious.
- Use common sense. If it’s too good to be true, then it’s likely not!
- Phishing emails are getting harder to spot. When in doubt, ASK before clicking on a link opening an attachment.
- If you get an unusual email from a co-worker, call the sender and verify the email.
What if you get a phishing email?
Follow your company’s policy on reporting phishing emails. If you don’t know what to do, ask your supervisor or someone from IT. If you think you received a phishing email, report the email to the appropriate company personnel. Reporting a phishing email might prevent a co-worker from falling victim to the same email counts, and participation is needed to maintain a good cybersecurity posture.
