Phishing or social engineering attacks are the number one cyber threat to business networks. Recent studies show that 90% of attacks are triggered by phishing. Innocent mistakes can expose vast amounts of confidential data, risking regulatory action and reputational disaster.

The problem with phishing is that tech solutions are never completely effective. Phishers exploit human nature, convincing users to make unsafe decisions. The only effective response is phishing awareness training.

Poorly trained workforces will eventually put your data at risk. But if you follow the guidance below, you will be well-prepared to handle social engineering attacks.

Key takeaways

• Phishing involves using emails to persuade readers to make dangerous decisions. Links and attachments direct users to malicious websites, putting data and network assets at risk.

• Companies can only combat phishing by training employees to identify suspicious emails. This is harder than it sounds. Phishing emails resemble authentic messages and use sophisticated techniques to fool targets.

• Proper training prepares employees to assess subject lines, email addresses, links, body text, and links. Training covers every aspect of phishing attacks, enabling users to report threats before they compromise your network.

• Implementing continuous phishing awareness training is key. Employees must refresh their knowledge and participate in phishing simulations. Employers, on the other hand, should create easy-to-use reporting processes.

• Combining awareness training with cybersecurity technology mitigates most phishing attacks. Threat detection tools, email encryption, and VPNs strengthen your network defenses. They contain malicious threats when phishing training fails.

Phishing: What your employees need to know

There are two main reasons phishing leads to data breaches and other cyber-attacks: poor security infrastructure and lack of phishing awareness.

Robust protection is vital, but it won’t work if employees ignore phishing risks and expose critical data. Safeguarding apps and data requires constantly updated phishing awareness training. Let’s explore what building an effective human firewall entails and how to create effective training materials.

1. Phishing is illegal

The first thing to stress is that phishing scams are always illegal. Successful or not, phishers commit criminal acts, and it’s important to report phishing attacks to the authorities.

Phishing breaches both the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and legislation against wire fraud. Successful attacks also breach identity theft laws. Phishing isn’t a minor offense, and employees should understand its severity.

Even so, laws do not specifically outlaw phishing—just successful cyber-attacks involving phishing. It’s still legal to email people asking for information. Tricking people with deceptive language is also legal. If not, sending jokes via email would effectively be criminalized.

Phishing differs because attackers trick users into sharing financial or confidential information for personal gain. Keep that definition in mind when delivering security awareness training.

2. Never trust email addresses alone

Phishers are experts in deception. Every aspect of their emails is potentially fake. However, victims sometimes forget this. They see what appear to be legitimate email addresses and assume the content is safe.

That’s a common and dangerous mistake. A phishing attack often starts by using spoofing to imitate legitimate email addresses.

Spoofed email addresses superficially resemble authentic Amazon or Microsoft addresses. If you look more closely, the underlying email address has nothing to do with those companies. This method is also known as display name spoofing. Every employee must be able to spot it 100% of the time.

There’s another aspect to display name spoofing. Email apps on some mobile devices do not show the sender’s address unless users expand the user name. That’s why you must train remote workers to use all devices securely – not just work laptops.

Spoofers can also take another approach known as cousin domain spoofing. This technique creates email domains that closely resemble authentic domains but have tiny differences.

Sometimes, this could be a fake extension like “Cisco-customerservice”. Sometimes, phishers add a different domain name or a string of numbers that shouldn’t be there. These discrepancies are never easy to spot.

Employees must concentrate and check every address for anomalies. Test their skills regularly, as concentration tends to lapse after a few months.

3. Look for suspicious subject lines and content

Subject lines and body text are also red flags when detecting phishing campaigns.

Phishers often use subject lines to grab attention. For instance, attackers might spoof an actual SaaS provider notifying you about rejected invoices. Or they could target executives with extravagant recruiting promises.

Subject lines may use fear and anxiety. Or they could arouse curiosity. When these methods work, users drop their natural caution and may click links or respond to other parts of the email.

Train employees to treat emails with threatening or excessively positive subject lines cautiously. These subject lines don’t automatically indicate a phishing threat. But employees should treat the attached emails as suspicious messages.

Body text is another critical phishing training awareness issue. The tone of the email is the first area to check. A threatening tone is always a phishing red flag.

For example, phishers want readers to click dangerous links and threaten dire consequences if users don’t click the link. Real-world clients or companies rarely communicate like that. The same applies to sudden emails about locked accounts or credit card problems.

Don’t rely on common sense. When creating phishing training materials, add real-world examples of suspicious emails. Highlight how phishers use language and tone, giving employees enough information to make informed judgments.

4. Beware of embedded links

Remember: phishers can spoof any part of an email message. This applies to embedded links as much as email addresses.

Links are a crucial training theme because malicious links almost always appear in social engineering emails. Phishers try to funnel victims to malicious sites where users hand over information or download malware. Identifying these sites is essential.

If a phishing email is well-written, malicious links look fine. They may resemble links to payment portals or accounting apps. Readers can only see the destination URL by hovering their cursor over the link text.

Check links thoroughly before clicking. Look for suspicious URL formats and shortened URLs. Make sure employees use virtual private gateways with DNS Filtering configured and Threat Block enabled. These NordLayer features ensure employees can access only secure web content by restricting access to potentially malicious websites.

5. Exercise caution with attachments

Email attachments are just as dangerous as links—maybe more so if your employees regularly exchange documents and files via email.

Phishers prefer adding attachments to emails as attachments tend to bypass spam filters. They can add a phishing link to PDF documents or spreadsheets without worrying about interception.

Skilled phishers use this to their advantage. They turn attachments into a form of social proof, persuading readers they need to access something valuable and useful.

When training employees, stress that all attachments are suspicious. The best phishing emails are careful to make other parts of the email convincing. Even plausible messages from seemingly trusted organizations could be malicious.

Teach employees to check attachment links. If they aren’t sure, recommend users report the attachment to a security team member. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

6. Understand the risks of personal phishing attacks

Understanding personalization is another core part of an effective phishing awareness training program.

The reason for this is simple. As phishing becomes more complex, attackers are launching personalized phishing scams. Even highly qualified individuals can be caught off-guard. The success of a social engineering attack largely depends on context and personal relevance.

Instead of generic greetings, attackers are using contextual data. AI and automation tools enable hackers to profile targets and pose as authentic email senders. Employees need better security awareness in general (to protect their personal information) and when reading emails (to detect small false details).

It’s also vital to deliver additional training for high-ranking individuals and administrators.

Targeted training helps combat whaling and spear phishing attacks that leverage information about senior employees. These individuals often have greater access to sensitive information and privileges to share it—a dangerous combination that bad actors often exploit.

7. Appearances are deceptive as cybercriminals copy corporate branding

When you read emails from major companies, branded graphics, and layout style are often the first things you notice. Companies use consistent visuals and templates to deliver legitimate messages, but phishing emails can copy all of this.

Train employees not to be fooled by slick logos. Look for minor imperfections in the email’s presentation. Phishers often slightly change logos to work around spam filters.

Be wary of images as well. Phishers embed links beneath photos (and elements like QR codes), another way to evade filters. Genuine senders rarely do this, preferring transparent and secure links. Treat image links as potential red flags wherever they appear.

8. Update your knowledge: Phishers are becoming more sophisticated

Tomorrow’s phishing attempts will be more sophisticated. Detecting them will be increasingly challenging. You can be sure of that. Attackers constantly seek ways to avoid filters and fool their targets. Phishing awareness training should evolve with new techniques.

Above all else, security officers should research emerging techniques and prepare for emerging phishing campaigns. Also, creating a comprehensive strategy that includes education, vigilance, and technology works best when it comes to preventing phishing attacks.

Threat actors are using artificial intelligence to generate more accurate messages. They also run multi-channel attacks, which use two or more communication platforms. Microsoft Teams is the most common second step, followed by Slack and SMS. Security teams must up their game and outpace their adversaries.

How to implement phishing awareness training

Understanding what employees need to know is a good start. It’s vital to put that knowledge into practice with effective phishing training. Here are some tips about how to do so:

• Implement continuous phishing training with annual updates and testing exercises. Don’t rely on onboarding training. Knowledge and attention erode over time.

• If you have the resources, run simulated phishing campaigns and war game potential scenarios with cybersecurity tabletop exercises.

• Include key stakeholders in training scenarios. Everyone, from new hires to veteran executives, plays a role in detecting phishing attempts.

• Ensure you have a reporting system to pick up alerts from the front line. Employees should be able to instantly report suspicious emails without disrupting their workflows.

• Provide immediate feedback when an employee clicks on a phishing email. Gentle guidance reinforces training on the spot, and there’s usually no need for disciplinary procedures.

• Audit your phishing training program regularly. Record phishing incidents and identify areas to improve.

How can NordLayer help?

At NordLayer, we want every company to guard against phishing attacks, and we offer a range of solutions to make that happen.

Firstly, check out our recent article on data breaches. It’s a great introduction to the main attack techniques and data breach risks. When you’re up to speed, use our security tools to make awareness training even more effective.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) helps ensure cybercriminals won’t get far with stolen credentials alone. Threat protection based on Zero Trust Network Access verifies every user and device before they are given access to your network.

NordLayer also offers solutions that help prevent phishing. Threat Prevention identifies and blocks potential threats, protecting your devices and important data from phishing scams.

Security technologies alone won’t stop every phishing attack. Combining NordLayer’s security tools with phishing awareness training will put you in the best possible position. Get in touch today and find out how to reduce your phishing risks.