With the rapid increase in the number of incidents of hacking attacks, it was forecasted that 2018 would set new record highs. That came with the rising numbers of hack attacks as well as more successful attacks compared to what was recorded the previous year, 2017. Unfortunately, the prediction came true and the information security of several business has been breached.
What some individuals had anticipated, on the other hand, was how massive the increase was.
Although the number of hacking attacks went through the roof in 2018, there are certain areas that saw massive growth than Business Email Compromise or BEC attacks. These hacks were responsible for the staggering 476% increase between the last quarter of 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2018. To provide that figure with some context, in comparison, email fraud attempts against commercial businesses surged by 226% during the same time, which even though still staggering, is measly by comparison.
Business Email Compromise attacks rank first when it comes to the security risk that is growing rapidly on the existing threat matrix, and the most common kind of attack that companies will most likely experience. There is a great need for firms to improve their information security Myrtle Beach.
These are, to be more specific, social engineering attacks targeting certain staff members of a particular firm, usually in the finance division of a certain company. The main objective is to convince them that they are in contact with a vendor that the firm does business with on a regular basis and to persuade them to send out significant amounts of cash. This is usually through wire transfers to given accounts which look like the real vendor accounts at first look, but the truth is, they are being controlled by the hackers.
Even though less complicated attacks depend on infected URLs or files to do their damage, these particular attacks depend on psychology and trust. Because of that, they will be harder to spot, which is among the several reasons why they could be extremely devastating. When the time comes that the victim realizes what they have done and what happened, it is just way too late.
Vigilance is just the only want to fight this kind of attack, so just make sure that your staff members know the risk and should always be on their guard. Finally, heck any significant transfer of money personally. You may also seek out the help of a professional IT consultant. It is always better to be safe than sorry later on.
