Cybercriminals
use social engineering techniques to trick users into providing login
credentials, initiating fraudulent transactions or unknowingly install
ransomware.
TAGUIC CITY, PHILIPPINES, 25 Sep 2018
- Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated
cybersecurity solutions,
today remind corporate users in Philippines that email remains one of
the most vulnerable vectors targeted by cybercriminals. The
cyber-attacks are likely to happen to organizations that have yet to
implement strong email security controls and best practices.
According
to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, two-thirds of
installed malware are actually delivered by email. To gain access into
an organization’s network, cybercriminals often use phishing
or social engineering techniques in emails, thus counting on human
error or a lack of cybersecurity know-how to trick users into providing
login credentials or initiating fraudulent transactions, as well as to
unknowingly install malware, ransomware and other
malicious payloads.
“Due
to the ubiquity of email, it continues to be a common attack vector for
cybercriminals seeking to steal login credentials, money, and sensitive
data.” Said Mario Luis Castaneda. “The top email-based
cyberattacks carried out by cybercriminals today include phishing or
spear-phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks and zero-day vulnerabilities.
Companies must therefore ensure they have strong security controls in
place to detect and prevent these e-mail attacks.”
To help ensure email security, Fortinet’s cybersecurity experts advised users to:
1.
Filter Spam.
Because most email scams begin with unsolicited commercial email, one
should
take measures to prevent spam from getting into the mailbox. Most email
applications and web mail services include spam-filtering features, or
ways in which email applications can be configured to filter spam.
2.
Regard Unsolicited Email with Suspicion.
Don’t automatically trust any email sent by an unknown
individual or organization. Never open an attachment to unsolicited
email. Most importantly, never click on an unknown link in an email.
Cleverly crafted links can take users to forged web sites set up to
trick them into divulging private information or downloading
viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
3.
Treat Email Attachments with Caution.
Email attachments are commonly used by online scammers to sneak
a virus onto computers. These viruses can help the scammer steal
important information from the computer, compromising the computer so
that it is open to further attack and abuse, and convert a computer into
a ‘bot’ for use in denial-of-service attacks and
other online crimes. As noted above, a familiar “from” address is no
guarantee of safety because some viruses spread by first searching for
all email addresses on an infected computer and then sending itself to
these addresses.
4.
Install Antivirus Software. Users should install an antivirus program that has an automatic update
feature. This will help ensure users to always have the most up-to-date protection possible against viruses.
5.
Install a Personal Firewall and Keep it Up to Date.
A
firewall will not prevent scam email from making its way into users’
mailbox. However, it may help protect users should they inadvertently
open a virus-bearing attachment or otherwise introduce
malware to their computer. The firewall, among other things, will help
prevent outbound traffic from a user’s computer to the attacker. When a
personal firewall detects suspicious outbound communications from a
user’s computer, it could be a sign that the
user has inadvertently installed malicious programs on his computer.
###
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