#1 – Practice Good Password Hygiene  

To practice good password hygiene, you will want to use strong and unique passwords and enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication. If you’re worried about having to remember a large number of unique passwords for all your accounts, Jessica suggests downloading the free password manager “Last Pass” on your desktop or mobile device.  

#2 – Know Your Risk Factors  

Be aware that there is a cybersecurity risk of just browsing the internet or having an email address – it’s low, but it’s there. Jessica suggests using haveibeenpwned.com to check if an email address, password, or website has been compromised and how frequently. From here, you can make more knowledgeable decisions on website subscriptions or update your accounts with higher-strength passwords.  

#3 – Perform Regular Updates  

Hopefully, your IT department is frequently performing these on your work devices, but it should be done on personal devices as well. For a Windows device, you can type “Windows Update Settings” in the search bar and check for updates. A good rule of thumb is every 30 days to ensure your device works as efficiently as possible.  

#4 – Have a Backup Solution  

Be proactive rather than reactive. If you don’t have something in place now, it will be too late when you do get hacked. Back up essential documents using cloud-based methods such as Google Drive or iCloud. If you are someone with a vast amount of data to store, Jessica suggests a paid backup solution: BackBlaze is only $6/month for unlimited storage.  

#5 – Think Before You Click  

Be wary of unsolicited messages – emails, texts, online ads. Hackers send these in hopes of gaining access to your credentials or to prove your domain is credible. Jessica suggests you do not respond, do not click on links, and always delete. Also, mark as spam, block sender and notify your IT department. It’s better to be safe than sorry.  

.BANK is not just another way to change up your domain name, it's a proactive and protective measure put in place to give you peace of mind that your customers are protected. Phishing in the financial industry is all too common, as it is the #1 cyberattack and starting point of most breaches. This reason alone is why .BANK domains are so important to implement.

If you'd like to skip straight to a downloadable flier that further explains how .BANK protects your customers, click here.

Not convinced yet or want more information? Here's why you should register for a .BANK domain:

VERIFICATION

Having a .BANK domain provides extra verification for your organization, as only verified members of the global banking community are approved for these domain names. These domain names make it easy for your customers to distinguish authentic emails or communications from your financial organization in comparison to a phishing attempt.

According to Kaspersky Lab, in 2017 the share of financial phishing increased from 47% to 54% of all phishing detections, which is a record-breaking high for financial phishing. You want your customers to confidently recognize and communicate with your organization, and without a .BANK domain nothing is promised. Anyone can register for a generic domain such as .COM or .NET, but only legitimate financial organizations can register for a .BANK domain name.

Related: What is Phishing?

EXTRA SECURITY MEASURES

Kaspersky Lab also found that more than every 4th attempt to load a phishing page was related to banking phishing. Financial organizations are the "big catches" when it comes to phishing, which is why extra security measures must be taken. These special domains include those extra security measures, from further authentication, to an increased level of encryption, to abuse monitoring and compliance enforcement so that only verified financial organizations can utilize .BANK domains.

Further authentication is just another road block in recognizing and stopping malicious attempts to steal personal information. If your customers see something linked to a .BANK domain, they know they can trust it. An increased level of encryption will help to drastically decrease the chance that customers are redirected to sites disguised as your own that could steal their account information. .BANK domains also come with compliance and requirements to maintain a strong level of security, so financial institutions must allocate a point of contact from their organization to help continue to verify their organization.

Related: Fight Cybercrime With User Awareness Training

.BANK domains play a huge role in preventing cybercrime in the financial industry. Phishing attempts are becoming more and more common, and financial institutions are the big catches. With the security, verification processes, and requirements of obtaining a .BANK domain, you can ensure your customers that anything from your domain name can be trusted and that their data is safe with you.

For more information on how .BANK protects your customers through verification, domain name integrity/domain name system security extensions, and strong encryption, click below.

Once spam hits your email inbox, you become a target. When it comes to technology, humans tend to be the weakest link in most IT security situations. Attackers will constantly try to trick them, manipulating users to click on things that they shouldn't through a variety of methods. Oftentimes, these "tricks" are via email, as email platforms can target a very large number of people and is a very "budget-friendly" attack. If users happen to click the wrong thing within the spam email, bullseye, internal data then becomes exposed.

Since email is commonly used as a way to exploit users and their data, spam filtering has grown in importance and relevance. Organizations must utilize a spam filter to reduce the risk of users clicking on something they shouldn't, in turn keeping their internal data shielded from a cyber attack.

In the tech industry today, even the most reliable tools can be used against you. Five Nines has recently discovered phishing attempts that are in the form of an Office 365 verification email. Wouldn’t you be enticed to click on the links in this email?

Unfortunately, just because it is Office 365, and just because many Office 365 tools are hosted online, does not mean it is any safer. When it comes to cybercrime, you must have a healthy paranoia about everything. Anything is open game.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

A lot of these phishing attempts happen through email, mobile messages, or unprotected webpages. Here are a few quick tips we recommend:

• Double check the sender’s email address, is it from a suspicious domain? Are there any tiny grammatical errors? (EX. micorsoft-support.com)
• Why is the sender asking you to click on a link? Is it to avoid negative consequence or to gain something of value? Think twice about whether it’s a link you should be clicking on.
• Did you receive the email at an unusual time that is not during business hours?
• Are there misspellings in hyperlinks?
• Does the attachment in the email relate to the content of the message?

We have put together a complete flier full of even more red flags to look for when it comes to phishing attempts. Download the flier, read it over, and share it with your team. P.S. it’s free.

Keep in mind, phishing attempts may be in the form of reputable organizations and programs, such as Microsoft and their Office 365 software. For consistent FBI updates on current cybercrime schemes, click here. 

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

There are a couple of important components that must be put into place to keep your organization protected from clever cybercrime tactics. First, the antivirus you use is very crucial in protecting your business. Five Nines utilizes Cylance, if you don’t know a lot about this antivirus Five Nines just hosted a Cylance webinar, download it here.

Who needs it? The answer is everyone. Unfortunately, cybercrime is not a matter of "if", but a matter of "when." Learn more about how to utilize cyber insurance for your business, the common misconceptions in regards to cyber liability, and how insurance helps you respond to a potential cybercrime.

Miss the NE Tech Summit? Through a presentation by Unico Group, read about why the common trends of cybercrime, and how cyber insurance can help. 

Presenters: 

Dan Mickells - UNICO

Tom Champoux - UNICO

Sit back and learn about the NE Tech Summit Session on Cyber Insurance.

Global Drug Trade makes around $435 billion dollars a year. What about Cybercrime? $450 billion dollars a year. Don't lose your business dollars to cybercrime.

Miss the NE Tech Summit? View screenshot examples of how you can create fake phishing links to see if your team members take the bait, and how to best implement security awareness training within your organization.

Presenter: 

Marshall Ford - Training and Development Manager at Five Nines

Sit back and learn about the NE Tech Summit Session on Phishing and Security Awareness.