Social Engineering Attacks: The Silent Threat to Businesses 

Cybercriminals have come a long way and are known for coming up with new tactics every single time. This time around, their tactics aren’t just limited to hacking software; rather, they target human psychology. Social Engineering attacks are part of this tactic, where employees are manipulated into handing over critical information, making them the top reason for cyber insurance claims.  

How It Works 

Social Engineering Attacks can come in a variety of ways. Some of these are:  

• Phishing Emails – Fraudulent emails that pretend to be from trusted sources, tricking the employees into clicking on malicious links or sharing credentials.  
• Pretexting – Cybercriminals send emails pretending to be a colleague or vendors, resulting in confidential information being shared by the victim. 
• Baiting & Quid Pro Quo – Ever seen an email asking for a software update? Yup, that’s the one. Once you tap on that link, you give the hacker access to pretty much everything.  

As smart as these techniques are, it keeps getting worse with a new technique every time. Sometimes, it’s financial fraud, a data breach, and worse – reputational damage caused by compromising sensitive data. That is why you need to be ahead of the game. While Cyber Insurance can help cover losses, pre-planning and prevention is still key.  

How to Stay Protected Against Cybercriminals 

If you are a business owner, your first step should be to train and educate your staff regarding all that can go wrong. Since they are now attacking the human mind, you too need to target the human mind – educate your staff to be able to recognize malicious requests and links. Furthermore, make use of robust security methods such as Multi-Factor Authentication. This adds an extra layer of security to all your accounts, making it difficult for the hackers to access them. Lastly, keep a secondary communication channel apart from emails to confirm any unusual requests from the sender. For example, if Julie sent you an email requesting to update your account, try giving Julie a call to verify whether that email was sent by her.  

Cybercriminals are targeting our weakness – human error. The best way to combat it is to raise awareness amongst the team and others, incorporate cyber training programs, and have a robust cyber insurance policy in place to mitigate the damage in case of an attack.  

For expert advice, contact Shayne Bevilacqua at Professional Liability Insurance Group.  
Call or text us at +1 (877) PLIG – 123, That’s (877) 754 – 4123