Cyber scams like phishing trick people into disclosing personal information or downloading malware that can then result in bad actors using these stolen identities for fraudulent activities that cost companies and individuals billions of dollars annually.
To stay safe, it’s important to understand what phishing attacks are, the different types of scams, and how to prevent them. Let’s explore a recent report that highlights the prevalence of phishing attacks and the industries that are most affected, as well as what you can do to prevent phishing attacks for yourself and your business.
A phishing attack is a form of cyber scam that uses falsified credentials – a fake email from an established company, a fake identity as a customer service or government representative, a fake homepage for a social media site, etc. – to steal identifying information like usernames and passwords from individuals, trick users into downloading dangerous malware, or taking other actions that might leave them vulnerable to other cybercrime. This is most commonly done via email or direct message on social media by claiming there’s been some kind of security incident or contest requiring you to log into your account or provide information.
Phishing relies heavily on social engineering, or forcing someone to take action via social pressure or manipulation. These attacks rely on making you feel as if you’ve done something wrong – made a bad purchase, trusted the wrong company, had a transaction bounce, etc. They also rely on creating a sense of urgency, the idea that you’ll need to resolve the problem right now or risk it getting substantially worse.
There are several types of phishing attacks to consider.
According to a new report from Vade Secure, phishing attacks have risen by 173% in Q3 of 2023 alone. The researchers comment that August was the most heavily affected month, sporting more than 207.3 million phishing attempts via email, which is nearly double the amount sent in July. This activity continued into September when an estimated 172.6 million emails were sent.
Of the most commonly impersonated companies, Facebook and Microsoft took the top spots, keeping their places since 2020. Facebook was the most impersonated overall, at 16,657 faked URLs, and experienced a rise of 169% in the prevalence of these URLs from Q2. The company accounted for more phishing URLs than all seven of the next most spoofed companies combined, whose total was 16,432 spoofs.
Though all companies saw major increases in attacks, according to Vade, the most affected companies were
The only industry that saw a decline in phishing attempts was Internet and telecommunications.
There are many things you can do to recognize and prevent fallout from a phishing attack. Here are some helpful tips.
One of the best things you can do to secure your data is to implement multi-factor authentication on your accounts. This makes it more difficult for scammers to gather all of the required information to access your data by layering security together.
If you are a business looking to implement MFA, consider using a modern, more advanced authentication method such as Photolok. Photolok is a passwordless IdP that is simple, effective, and offers a range of benefits including AI and ML defense, device authorization, and one-time-use authenticators. With Photolok, users submit images and label them for use as authenticators. When attempting to access the system, they simply choose their image from a grid. They can also label an image as Duress, which allows them access but notifies administrators so that, if they are forced to access the account, the proper authorities can be notified quickly for their safety.
You can request a demonstration of the Photolok system for further details and a consultation to see how this advanced authentication system can benefit your business.
If you are a business looking to implement MFA, consider using a more advanced authentication method such as Photolok IdP. Photolok is a passwordless IdP that is simple, effective, and offers a range of benefits including AI and ML defense, device authorization, and one-time-use authenticators. With Photolok, users select images and label them for security use. When accessing a network, application, and/or API, users simply choose their image from several photo panels, and they are in. Users can also label a photo as Duress, which acts as a silent alarm. The Duress option allows the user access but notifies IT administrators that the user’s account is compromised and they need to execute the company’s security procedure quickly to protect the company and the user’s safety.
In today’s world, information security online has become more crucial than ever. As a result, the online authentication methods have also evolved significantly.
Identity providers are the most significant innovation in cyber data security. They maintain and authenticate user information across various platforms to ensure safety and convenience.
Let’s explore how identity providers work to protect your sensitive information online.
When you frequent a website or use a service on a regular basis, and want to customize your experience or store data of some description, it’s common to create an account with that site or service. This allows you to have a dedicated user experience personalized to your needs. But how do you keep this personal information safe? Using identity protection methods and authentication. That’s where an identity provider – or IdP – comes in.
An IdP is an entity that stores and manages the digital identities – usernames, passwords, and other identifying information – of its users and acts as the verification process between a user and a website or service. You can think of it as being a bouncer at the door to an event, who keeps the guest list and checks against it for everyone trying to enter. IdPs are most frequently used in cloud computing services to manage user identities and/or authenticate devices logging into a network.
Though they are named similarly, an identity provider and a service provider are two different ends of the user-need system. A service provider is any web-based application, system, or service that a user would like to access, which stores user information behind the wall of an account for authentication. An identity provider, on the other hand, is the intermediary service that actively records and confirms the identity of a user or device so that they can access the service provider’s network.
That being said, both are important to the process of federated identity management, which is an arrangement between two providers (an IdP and an SP) that offers secure, smooth access to information and services by consolidating their information into one interactive system rather than requiring them to create new authentication credentials at every step of the process and for every unique program or application they use.
Using an IdP to secure user data has many benefits.
One of the most significant advantages of using an IdP is that it provides strong authentication methods such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), which can significantly reduce the risk of data loss or data compromise. By implementing MFA, the IdP can verify the identity of the user, making it harder for bad actors to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Another benefit of using an IdP is that it simplifies the user experience by allowing users to use single sign-on (SSO) technology. This means users don’t have to remember multiple passwords, usernames, or secondary authentication methods, which reduces the overall amount of data that a company’s system needs to monitor at any given time. This also makes it easier for users to navigate between different applications and services without having to re-enter their credentials each time.
Beyond this, using an IdP can streamline the user data management process by taking the burden of data management and security off of the service provider. Again, this makes monitoring easier, as it provides a centralized unit for auditing access events (meaning instances of users attempting to gain access to information) and tracing those events. With an IdP, the service provider can focus on the service itself and on offering a great user experience while the IdP handles security and data management.
Overall, using an IdP is an effective way to secure user data and simplify the user experience while reducing the overall risk of data loss or data compromise.
There are two main types of widely available IdP setups.
IdPs have three basic steps in their working process.
Usually, this process will need to be repeated every time a user logs into the service provider’s main system. There are often options users can select to have IdPs remember specific devices or browsers so that they do not need to log in as often.
Data protection online is incredibly important, which is why service providers partner with identity providers. This system allows users to have both an easy and secure way to access their data without worrying that it will be compromised by malicious third parties.
If your company is interested in establishing an authentication system, Netlok’s Photolok service might be the IdP you’ve been looking for. Photolok is a unique authentication system that allows users to upload photos to be used as identifiers; simply upload and label your security image and select it from a roster of images to verify your identity. Photolok even provides users with a Duress option, which allows them to choose a specific photo if they have been forced to access their account, sending a distress signal to the provider so that authorities can be alerted to the situation quickly and quietly.
You can request a demo of Photolok today to see if this service is right for your organization.
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