You know what they say, there is plenty of phish on the internet! As organizations start to shift to a more distributed work environment, managing data access to data and systems from a specific location is no longer the job of security teams. Now that employees are accessing work-related information on their personal devices from locations all over the globe, it has made it harder for IT personnel to track and verify every connected device. Thus, mobile phishing has become more popular.
Due to this shift in the work environment, bad actors have devised new phishing attacks and have started to focus more on the employee’s personal mobile devices. Recently, bad actors have started to gain more success with this approach. This is very concerning, as phishing attacks typically evolve into ransomware attacks.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is an attack that attempts to steal your identity, or your money, by getting you to reveal your personal information. This personal information can range from credit card numbers to bank information or passwords. People can often find phishing on websites that are trying to look legitimate or in emails and messages claiming to be a reputable company, a friend, or a distant relative in a fake message containing a link to a phishing website.
In recent years, online service providers have been contacting clients when they notice unusual or suspicious activity on their users’ accounts to improve their network security.
It’s no surprise that the evil people are taking advantage of this. Many are poorly constructed, with errors in spelling and syntax, but others appear to be authentic enough for someone to click on if they weren’t paying attention.
This is why we should always triple-check website links and the email of the sender since oftentimes, the emails that look legitimate would be different from the official emails of the company they’re trying to imitate.
Imagine getting an email from PayPal saying that your PayPal account has been limited due to some “unusual” login activity!
Checklist for a Zero-Trust Approach Mobile Phishing Management
The cyber-hygiene of employees plays a significant role in your company’s security, which is why the core focus of any security strategy should be the user experience. As remote work becomes the new normal, ensuring that best practices are simple to complete will either make or break your security efforts. Organizations may get the best of both worlds by using a zero-trust approach.
With a zero-trust approach, organizations will continually verify each and every device connected to the company’s network every single time, with no exceptions. Organizations should look at the following techniques as part of a zero-trust approach:
- Before allowing access to data, utilize machine learning to continuously check the posture of the device on a regular basis, as well as to regulate user access control and location awareness.
- Automate routine security updates. Employees are less likely to delay required security patches and other upgrades if frequent security updates are automated.
- Invest in real-time threat-detection software for mobile devices that can identify and respond to threats in real-time.
- Instead of using passwords from the business landscape, incorporate multi-factor authentication (MFA) into your business’s security operations, which uses biometrics or other information to validate users and reduces the overall “phishability” of routine login processes.
Organizations may reduce mobile phishing attack risk faster than ever before by streamlining essential security procedures and continuously securing all endpoints using these strategies.