One of the most common ways cyber attackers gain access inside a company is through phishing emails. Spam filters can catch most of these emails, but all it takes is one getting through for an attacker to gain access. Can your employees spot these malicious emails and do they know what the appropriate response should be? Every employee, from the CEO down, needs to go through end-user security training, and managed IT services providers in Atlanta can help you with this.
What Can Happen If Someone Falls for a Phishing Scam?
Phishing scams seem ordinary and benign because they look like they were sent by a trusted source. This masquerade can be difficult to detect for an employee without the proper training.
Most phishing attempts happen through email or text message. The desired result is that the recipient will click on a link in the message. This often triggers one of three things:
- Gathering of sensitive information
- Installation of malware
- Freezing of systems via ransomware
Any of these scenarios can be devastating. However, they may only be the first line of attack. Once they have a threshold inside your network, your entire system becomes vulnerable to more dangerous and more numerous overt and covert attacks.
How End-User Security Training Can Help
Managed IT services providers in Atlanta recommend putting every employee through a vigorous end-user security training session. It is the fastest way to gain an extra line of defense against these common attacks.
However, before anything is said to any employee about the training, it is good practice to run a phishing assessment. The company that is going to do the training can help you set up this assessment.
- Send out a phishing email to all employees, masquerading as a common vendor. The links in the email will be harmless but will track the recipients’ responses.
- See who automatically clicks on the email link and who questions it.
This simple assessment will help you understand just how vulnerable your company is to these types of attacks.
Once you know how your employees react, schedule and publicize the end-user security training with your managed security partner in Atlanta. The trainer will teach your employees the warning signs of a phishing email along with tips and secrets the hackers use to disguise their presence. This training will give your employees the ability to recognize and report phishing emails. To see how much impact this training has, you can run another assessment a few months after training to see who is still using the skills taught.
If you want to learn more about end-user security training, talk to our managed IT services team in Atlanta at MIS Solutions, Inc. today.