How to get rid of phishing? Take our advice and protect your data

In France, in 2024, one company in two said it had already suffered at least one significant cyber attack (source: CESIN annual barometer). The global cost of these attacks, which are becoming more sophisticated, combined and industrialized thanks in particular to generative artificial intelligence, is estimated at 130 billion dollars (source: Statista).

Among these cyber-malware attacks, phishing and its variants have been the dominant attack vector for several years. This article explains how to protect your company and your data from phishing attacks!

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What are the signs of a phishing attempt?

Definition of phishing

Before getting to the heart of the matter and explaining how to get rid of phishing, we'd like to give you a definition of this cyberattack. Phishing is a fraudulent technique used by cybercriminals to trick Internet users into disclosing personal and confidential information.

To do this, they send an e-mail impersonating a known entity:

• energy suppliers,
• telecom operators,
• e-mail services and cloud storage,
• delivery companies,
• banks,
• social security,
• online payment systems,
• tax services,
• well-known e-commerce brands...

In a phishing campaign, the fraudulent e-mail asks you to update or confirm your account information, download a document (which turns out to be corrupt), or click on a link (which takes you to a malicious site).

How can I recognize a phishing attempt?

The use of generative artificial intelligence by cybercriminals greatly complicates the detection of phishing. Today's fraudulent e-mails look very much like real e-mails, whose identity they impersonate. Nevertheless, there are still a few details that can differentiate a legitimate email from a phishing email, which can give you the keys to knowing how to get rid of phishing.

🔎 Here are the things that should alert you:

• The email comes from a company or service of which you are not a customer.

• It contains an unusual sender name.

• The sender's address does not match that of the real entity, including a domain name that does not conform.

• The email's subject describes a tempting offer, or is alarmist. Similarly, the text of the e-mail details the attractive offer or the alarming message. In both cases, the aim is to create a sense of urgency, to encourage people to click on a link or download an attachment without thinking too hard.

• The message contains grammatical or spelling errors.

• Some phishing e-mails are not personalized at all, apart from your e-mail address.

• It may contain an unusual request for personal or confidential information, for example.

• The phishing e-mail may look suspiciously different from the legitimate entity's usual communications, and contain a blurred, pixelated logo or images...

• Links contained in the email point to blatantly corrupt addresses...

What different types of phishing can target your company?

To understand how to get rid of phishing, it's important to know how to recognize this type of attack. In addition to the "traditional" form of phishing, which consists of sending an e-mail under the identity of a trusted third party to induce an action, cybercriminals exploit different variants to achieve their objectives.New technologies, notably those linked to artificial intelligence and Big Data, have broadened their ability to lure their targets. Among the different types of phishing most frequently encountered in companies are :

Contextual phishing

This cyberattack consists in exploiting a problem on a connected device to get you to click on a link, download a file carrying malware, or urgently contact a number purporting to be that of a support center.

Spear phishing

The spear phishing method involves targeting a specific person in the company to illicitly obtain their login credentials. This requires an initial phase of gathering information (name, position and contact details) on the victim before launching the cyberattack.

Smishing

A contraction of SMS and phishing, this attack is the counterpart of phishing on mobile devices. It uses the same methods. The cybercriminal attempts to obtain sensitive and confidential data (credit card numbers, login details, etc.) via fraudulent text messages. 📲

Clone phishing

To carry out a clone phishing attack, the hacker uses an identical copy of a message already received by the recipient, but adds mentions urging them to click on a malicious link.

Whaling

This attack also involves gathering information and identifying potential targets among company executives. These employees are often targeted because they have access to more sensitive areas of the network, and possess superior privileges. When this type of attack succeeds, hackers gain access to information of the utmost importance.

Vishing

Another attack related to phishing, vishing, a contraction of voice and phishing, consists in cybercriminals calling a person and trying to extort confidential information by pretending to be someone close to them or a trusted third party. It's the voice version of phishing. 🗣️

Pharming

Pharming is a social engineering cyberattack in which Internet users are redirected to a fake website in order to retrieve confidential login information (password, ID). This complex attack sends malicious code to victims to modify their computer's hosts file and divert traffic to the fraudulent website.

HTTPS phishing

The aim of this attack is also to entice the target user to visit a fake site. To achieve this, the attacker sends an e-mail containing a link to the website in question.

Quishing

A contraction of QR code and phishing, the aim of quishing is to direct targets to malicious sites by scanning a QR code.

Image phishing

Here, hackers use images containing malicious files designed to infect your equipment with a virus or Trojan horse if you click on them.

Business email compromise (BEC)

This attack is difficult to detect. ⚠️ It involves usurping the identity of a company partner or manager and instructing their employees to :

• transfer funds to fraudulent bank accounts,
• transmit private data, bank details, professional identifiers and contact details.

Learning how to identify an attack is the key to knowing how to react, and how to get rid of phishing in all its forms!

How to react to phishing spam?

As you will have gathered, phishing and its various forms represent a constant threat to your business. The number of spam e-mails received every day is considerable, and many of these undesirable e-mails are undoubtedly phishing e-mails. It's important to be aware of this, because even the slightest error of judgement can have serious consequences for your company, impacting its operations and even jeopardizing its survival.

How do you get rid of phishing in the workplace ? To counter these attacks, it is advisable to put in place an efficient IT security policy, based on innovative technologies and the adoption of good cybersecurity practices by employees.

What to do in the event of phishing e-mails?

When you're the victim of a phishing attempt, there are a number of things you need to bear in mind to act quickly and effectively. How to get rid of phishing emails If you have any doubts about an email, its origin or its subject, contact the organization in question directly to clarify the matter. Don't use the contact details on the dubious e-mail, but only those that are 100% reliable. How do you get rid of phishing if your usual contact confirms that he or she doesn't know what the e-mail in question refers to? Simply delete it and empty your e-mail client's recycle garbage can.

You're being asked for personal data

If you receive a dubious e-mail asking you to provide personal information by SMS, e-mail or telephone, beware and delete it immediately. Please note that public authorities and e-commerce platforms never ask for confidential or sensitive contact details by e-mail, SMS or telephone.

You've received a link

How do you get rid of phishing if the message you've received contains a link? The last thing you want to do is click on it. On your computer, you can place the mouse cursor over the dubious link. If you click on it, you'll see the address to which you might be directed. It usually doesn't match the identity you're trying to steal. To be sure, you can compare this Internet address (URL) with that of the real site.

If in doubt, contact your IT department!

If you receive a suspicious message on your work computer or laptop, you should contact the IT department of the company/administration you work for.

Have you clicked on a malicious link?

Another piece of advice: if you inadvertently click on a malicious link in a phishing e-mail, don't delete the phishing message. It will serve as proof, and your IT team will be able to study the code to extract useful information.

You should immediately pass on the information internally so that steps can be taken. Your technical teams can also report suspicious messages to Signal Spam. This service, associated with the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), is tasked with identifying the main spammers and taking action against cyber-malware.

Your contact details have been stolen

Similarly, if you discover that your personal details have been stolen, and are concerned that this could lead to identity theft, you should quickly to the nearest police station or gendarmerie, or send your complaint by post to the public prosecutor at your local court.

You've shared a password

How do you get rid of phishing if you've been tricked into sharing your password? In this case, it is imperative that you immediately change your login password on the site in question, as well as on all other sites or services on which you use the compromised password.

What to do in the event of SMS phishing?

Whether you've been tricked or not, if you've received a suspicious SMS or MMS on your cell phone, you can report it to the 33700 platform or by SMS to 33700 (the service is free). You should also warn the organization whose identity has been stolen, report the fraudulent phishing site to the Phishing Initiative platform and inform the authorities.

👉 Assuming you've clicked on a malicious link, how do you get rid of SMS phishing? We recommend you follow the same procedure as for email phishing.

What to do in the event of bank phishing?

How do you get rid of bank phishing if the hacker manages to obtain banking information (RIB) on the company, and following this theft, you notice fraudulent transactions on its account? You must :

1. keep proof of the bank phishing,
2. put a stop to the illegal transactions
3. and notify your account manager.

To stop cybercriminals in their tracks, you should - and this applies to all successful phishing attacks - replace your bank account login passwords with strong ones. And report the incident internally, so that all departments can be informed and redouble their vigilance.

Is there a way to stop phishing attempts?

How to get rid of phishing? There are several ways to protect your employees from the risks associated with the various forms of phishing. To be effective, they need to combine several elements and involve all your employees. Here's how to get rid of phishing effectively!

How can you get rid of phishing in the safest way?

How do you get rid of phishing in the most effective way? The solution involves a number of different elements which must come together to be effective.

First of all, the answer is technological. Companies need to install high-performance cybersecurity hardware and software solutions on the various building blocks of their infrastructure (servers, network equipment) and on user terminals (desktop and laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.) to detect attacks and deal with them. These solutions include :

• anti-virus
• anti-spam
• anti-ransomware,
• firewalls
• VPN (for mobile clients),
• encryption solutions...

Among these tools, Bitdefender's GravityZone Small Business Security stands out as an all-in-one cybersecurity solution, specially designed for SMEs. It offers advanced protection against phishing attempts thanks to its anti-phishing module, which blocks known and unknown fraudulent web pages, preventing users from unwittingly divulging sensitive information. The solution also incorporates a fraud prevention system.

Key features :

• centralized management via a single console
• security supervision for all company terminals,
• Easy to install and administer, even without in-depth IT expertise.

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The response must also involve common procedures and rules concerning the company's cybersecurity policy: frequency of OS and embedded application updates, download authorizations, password creation rules, use of connected equipment.

Finally, the answer is educational. It's useful to teach your employees what reflexes to have when faced with a phishing campaign, and how to get rid of phishing.

Integrate anti-phishing best practices into your IT security policy

To ensure that your employees know how to get rid of phishing, it's a good idea to include an educational component in your IT security policy.

It's an opportunity to teach them the best practices and reflexes to adopt, both upstream, to prevent the risks when they are the target of a phishing campaign, and downstream, to prevent the risks when they are the target of a phishing campaign.downstream, if the phishing attempt succeeds, know how to follow the procedure to contain the attack, isolate the affected equipment and report the phishing.

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Thwart cybercriminals' attempts and learn how to react!

New technologies, particularly those linked to generative AI, are making phishing attacks ever more numerous and difficult to identify, especially when cybercriminals cross-reference personalization information collected on social networks or purchased on the Dark Web.

How do you get rid of phishing when cybercriminals rely on increasingly advanced technologies? Companies can do this by adopting the right technological solutions, training their staff in cybersecurity, and implementing procedures adapted to different situations.