HomeCyberBustHow To Fight Phishing With Security Intelligence

How To Fight Phishing With Security Intelligence

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This post will show you how to fight phishing with security intelligence.

Phishing is one of the most frequent cyberattacks that trick users into revealing their personal information to an unreliable source – the hacker. Phishing is often “packed” inside an email attachment or a link leading to a shady website, which looks authentic. 

Users who’re not familiar with the art of phishing often fall into a trap and end up revealing their personal data, including the Social Security number, credit card information, or passwords, to a group of hackers. They later use it for dishonest activities, such as identity theft (and that’s not a joke!).

The best protection against a phishing attack is learning how to recognize the potential threat and implementing the best cybersecurity measures to safeguard your IT infrastructure – security intelligence.

Such an all-encompassing approach is convenient for organizations dealing with serious cyber threats, and it involves various actions in order to protect your IT environment to the fullest.

In this post, we’ll share some first-hand tips for detecting and blocking phishing attacks using security intelligence. Before you learn how to fight phishing, let me show you how to recognize phishing attacks.

How To Recognize Phishing Attacks?

How To Recognize Phishing Attacks

Cybercriminals are capable of doing anything to gather your sensitive information, which grants them access to your bank accounts or emails. Phishing is one of the most convenient ways to do that, especially if the user is unaware of the existence of such a scam.

The reason why users often fall for phishing tricks is that phishing texts or emails look genuine. This is because they use a reputable company’s name, logo, and the same communication manner the company you trust uses when sending you newsletters or similar notifications.

Most phishing emails or texts follow the same scheme. They tell you a story that’s either too good to be true (You inherited a billion dollars from a cousin from North Dakota, and they need your bank account information to pay you money), or need you to act immediately and “resolve a billing problem.”

How To Recognize Phishing emails
                             How To Recognize A Phishing Email

Therefore, you may recognize a phishing email if it uses some of the following messages to trick you into sharing your valuable data:

  • There has been some suspicious log-in attempt;
  • There is a problem with your credit card or payment information;
  • You must confirm your personal data immediately if you want to continue to use your account;
  • There is an attachment with a fake invoice;
  • They need you to click on a link to make a payment or confirm your personal data;
  • You’re eligible for a refund;
  • You’ve just got a free coupon, and they need you to fill out the form to receive it;
  • The sender is always unknown, and their email address is often miswritten and has too many characters.

While you can recognize some phishing attempts pretty easily, some go a step further. More advanced phishing emails look like they’re sent by a company you trust, so that doesn’t seem suspicious to a user.

However, they aren’t foolproof either.

This email might seem legitimate at first glance, but if we take a closer look, we’ll see some unusual signs. For example:

  • Grammatical error – Dears customer;
  • A reputable company always calls you by your or your organization’s name – Instead of a generic form, Dear customer, they’ll write Dear Ana, for example;
  • They say they’re experiencing some billing troubles and require your immediate action. In this case, to update your Mastercard info;
  • They invite you to click on a link to update your personal data.

Now, let me reveal how to fight phishing attacks.

How To Protect From Phishing?

How To Protect From Phishing

Antivirus & Anti-Spam Features

Integrated email scam filters may or may not detect phishing attacks, which calls for a separate antivirus software solution to add an extra layer of protection.

Besides higher-end endpoint protection that’s more convenient for organizations, you can benefit from some free, entry-level programs with equally powerful protection features. Antivirus software is the first step toward establishing a safe network and preventing dangerous phishing attacks that could leave severe consequences to your professional or personal life.

Security Intelligence

Unlike antivirus software or email filtering, security intelligence is based on a more comprehensive approach. Security intelligence involves collecting, standardizing, and analyzing data generated by networks in real-time.

The gathered information is later used to evaluate and improve the organization’s security and protection against a broad range of emerging cyber threats.

Leading world organizations and big corporations often hire security analysts to take care of their IT infrastructure and be their allies in defense against the nastiest forms of cyberattacks that could put the organization’s data at risk of unauthorized disclosure and use.

Since security intelligence takes place in real-time, any phishing attempt can be detected and blocked before it gets to the employees’ inboxes. It can also protect the corporate network from more advanced types of phishing, including spear phishing, whaling, smishing and vishing, angler phishing, and more.

Security intelligence can save companies from losing substantial amounts of money and putting their reputation at risk. Luckily, many antivirus solutions feature this option, which provides an extra layer of security when searching the web, checking emails, or facing suspicious activities.

Avoid Suspicious Websites

Avoid Suspicious Websites

Even if you implement sophisticated cybersecurity measures, hackers know how to avoid them successfully. That said, your protection is in your own hands. It’s critical to avoid shady websites and pages that lack basic security principles like SSL certificate, as well as links you received by an unknown sender.

Such websites are the biggest source of cybercrime, as hackers find them convenient to infect with their malicious code. Even if the site looks legitimate, be careful – there were cases where users inadvertently entered their log-in credentials on pyapal.com. We tricked you, didn’t we?

Besides, no reputable company will ever ask for your personal information through an email.

Final Thoughts On How To Fight Phishing

Phishing attacks are so popular because they’re very easy to perform. Unfortunately, users don’t receive enough education on cybercrime and fraud that’s only one click away from them.

We have to be aware of the consequences such a scam brings and give our best to gather as much information as possible regarding the best protection measures and signals that something shady’s going on.

Stay up to date with the latest news from cybersecurity with our blog!


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Daniel Segun
Daniel Segunhttp://techsegun.com
Daniel Segun is the Founder and CEO of SecureBlitz Cybersecurity Media, with a background in Computer Science and Digital Marketing. When not writing, he's probably busy designing graphics or developing websites.

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