Increased Phishing Attacks: More Cybersecurity Education to Keep Your Organization Safe

Hikvision is dedicated to cybersecurity and online safety. Email-based phishing attacks trick people into divulging sensitive information or infecting their system with malware. Malware gives an attacker remote access to protected content and networks. Hikvision’s VP of Global Information Security, Chuck Davis, offers several insights to help you stay safe from these threats.

A recent Security Magazine article reported that phishing attacks have increased by 29 percent globally, reaching a record 873.9 million attacks in 2021. The same article reported the overall number of phishing attacks has tripled since early 2020. This is partially due to a new kind of phishing scam coming from quick response (QR) codes. QR codes now play a normal part of our day-to-day technology use, but they can also open security risks. Users will scan a QR code thinking they are giving their information to a safe website, but they occasionally get tricked into sharing personal or financial information.

Other types of phishing scams include masking a URL, clickjacking/advanced URL masking, and phishing websites. There are some steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of falling victim to a phishing attack. First, look carefully at the headers when you receive a suspicious email. Additionally, hover your mouse pointer over links and be sure to read the entire URL before clicking on any unknown ones. If it looks suspicious, don’t click.

The following seven tips from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) provide recommendations to minimize your chances of becoming a victim of phishing attacks:

Filter spam.
Be wary of unsolicited email.
Treat email attachments with caution.
Don’t click links in email messages.
Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.
Install a personal firewall and keep it up to date.
Configure your email client for security.

To learn more about phishing and cybersecurity, visit the Hikvision Cybersecurity Center.

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Increased Phishing Attacks: More Cybersecurity Education to Keep Your Organization Safe

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