Hot Season, Cold Calculation: How to Avoid Becoming a Target for Cyberattacks

At the beginning of the year, business activity in companies picks up speed: new budgets are approved, strategic projects are launched, and the results of the previous year are summed up. All this happens against the backdrop of adaptation to the work rhythm, the formation of new plans, and spring vitamin deficiency. During this period, the concentration of attention of most employees is reduced, and the stress level, on the contrary, is consistently high. These are ideal conditions for fraudsters. Alexander Yarov, Head of Information Security at ELMA, told how to help the team remain vigilant when faced with cyber fraud.

Cyber ​​threats in the company: who is at risk

Every year, cybersecurity issues are becoming more and more relevant for businesses – fraudsters are coming up with new sophisticated ways to obtain company data and its financial resources. Over the past year alone, enterprises of various levels have faced cyberattacks 130 thousand times. This is 150% more than in 2023. Attacks on information systems can lead to serious consequences and cause a number of problems:

• financial difficulties (irrecoverable loss of funds from the company's accounts);

• access problems (unexpected failures in authentication systems);

• loss of contracts (customers' refusal due to concerns about the vulnerability of information resources).

Fraudsters often choose their "victims" deliberately, targeting specific figures within organizations. The most at risk are employees in key positions: accounting, sales departments, project managers, and senior management of companies. However, this does not exclude the possibility that ordinary employees can also become targets for cyberattacks. It is important to remember that the threat can affect anyone, so no employee should relax – everyone is at risk.

Main cyber fraud schemes: what to pay attention to

On the way to their goal, cyber fraudsters use various psychological tricks and technical tricks to deceive users. Let's consider three main fraud schemes that company employees may be subject to.

Sensory overload

Cybercriminals often exploit the state of sensory overload, when a person is busy with many tasks and their attention is scattered. In such a situation, a person’s cognitive resources are depleted, which leads to decreased attention and an increased likelihood of errors.

It is during this period that an invoice from “partners” may arrive in your work email, which will be automatically sent for payment without studying the details. Another example: an “IT specialist” may write to your messenger and ask you to follow a link and check your security settings. When there is a rush at work and there is no time to figure out the authenticity of the source, it is easy to comply with the request. But after the login and password are entered, this data automatically falls into the hands of scammers.

Read more materials on this topic in Compass CIO

Fear, Authority, Urgency

Cybercriminals often use fear tactics or appeal to authority. For example, they may pretend to be bank or government officials, claiming that you have a serious problem that requires immediate resolution. Phrases like, “Your manager demands that you transfer money urgently, otherwise the deal will fall through!” or “Pay urgently, otherwise you will face a serious fine and your account will be blocked!” should be in red.

At this point, the fraudsters' main tool is the confusion of employees and panic. It is important for the attackers to keep their victim in this state for some time, which will be enough for them to obtain the necessary information – for example, bank card numbers or other personal data.

Introduction of the second character

This scam is based on the psychological effect of trust. Fraudsters may present a “well-wisher” who supposedly helps you deal with the initial problem created by another fraudster. Once in the middle of the action, the victim finds it difficult to figure out where the truth is and where the evil intent is. The only desire is to solve the problem as soon as possible, even if in reality it does not exist.

Cybersecurity Measures: Defense Strategies for Business Teams

Cyber ​​attacks are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous, posing serious challenges to companies of all sizes. It is important to understand that cyber security is a collective responsibility of every employee in the organization.

Here are key precautions to help you respond to potential threats and keep your company's data safe.

• Raising awareness: Regular training and discussions of real-life cyberattack examples will help the team better understand potential threats and learn to recognize suspicious activity.

• Safe Behavior Training. It is important not only to be aware of existing risks, but also to be able to respond to them correctly. Employees should be trained in algorithms of actions in case of detection of suspicious activity.

• Stay calm. Scammers often use urgency tactics to trick victims into acting impulsively. Training your team to stay calm and avoid making hasty decisions is a key aspect of protection.

• Two-factor authentication. Introducing an additional level of confirmation for financial transactions will help prevent unauthorized access to company resources. You can introduce a rule that all urgent or unexpected financial transactions require confirmation via another communication channel.

• Interrupting Communication. If you suspect fraud, you should immediately stop communicating without engaging in dialogue with the potential attacker.

• Verifying information: Before making decisions, it is important to conduct your own investigation and verify the reliability of the information received through independent sources.

By following these recommendations, companies can significantly reduce the risk of cyber attacks and ensure the security of their information assets.