5 Types of Cyber Criminals and How to Protect Against Them
Winston-Salem, NC 11/3/2019
Cyber criminals pretending to be someone else can trick unsuspecting employees to compromise data. In one scenario, a spoof email purporting to be from the CEO of the company directs an employee to send a PDF with employees’ 1099 tax forms for an upcoming meeting with the Internal Revenue Service. The social engineer is able to capture Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
“We often see people making mistakes like this,” says Jennifer Coughlin, a partner at Mullen Coughlin LLC, a data breach law firm that works with Travelers Insurance. “Encourage employees to make a phone call and speak to the person, instead of leaving a voicemail – to verify all requests for sensitive, confidential, or protected information and financial information before they reply with the requested information. Employees should also ensure the “Reply To” address is, in fact, the email address of the requesting employee, and send this type of information via an encrypted email message.” Beware time-sensitive requests, as social engineers sometimes use a sense of urgency to compel victims into unsafe behavior.
“Companies can have employee training that both prepares and tests employees to recognize and respond to malicious phishing attempts,” says Tim Francis, Travelers Enterprise Cyber Lead. If a phishing attempt is successful, having the proper security in place provides another line of defense: protecting the rest of your network by segmenting the network and implementing strong authentication between the network and important data.
“Use multi-factor authentication, enforce strong password requirements, patch operating systems, software and apps, and increase redundancy and bandwidth,” Francis says.
Restricting access to sensitive data to only employees with an immediate need to use the data can help reduce the threat. Companies can limit, log and monitor internal account usage to protect against rogue employees, as well as protect against external attackers disguising themselves as legitimate users.
#5 The Ransom Artist
Bad actors have been modifying codes and implementing new ransom attack methods, sparking a rise in ransomware as the fifth most common form of malware, up from the 22nd most common in the 2014 Verizon Data Breach Incident Report.4 Many companies are paying ransom, often via anonymous bitcoin payments, to have their data restored.
Read what others have to say.
What's New
Why every Board of Directors should carry D&O Insurance
Directors & Officers Liability insurance provides coverage for your own “wrongful act” while performing duties as a Director of Officer of the insured entity, or the "wrongful acts" of other board members.
Why Do You Need Director’s & Officers Liability Insurance?
While an organization is legally permitted to cover the costs incurred as a result of personal liability stemming from the activities performed on behalf of the organization, this ability, called indemnification, may not apply to every situation. The director or officer may become personally liable in their duties performed for the organization.
What You Should Know About Rental Car Insurance
- Theft of the Vehicle
- Tolling, or Turning the Vehicle Over
- Lease Gap coverage
- Loss of Use
- Glass, Tire and Undercarriage Damage
- Animal Collision
- Flood and Hail Damage
- Damage above the Windshield
- Individuals who rent personal vehicles for extended periods and do not have a Personal Auto policy in force
- Drivers who rent, and do not own another vehicle insured elsewhere, need to be expecially careful here