What is a phishing scam and how can it affect your business?

Data protection and ensuring your business is digitally secure has never been more important than it is today, however, phishing scams are on the rise and they can be catastrophic for both individuals and businesses alike.

To help you remain safe and give you peace of mind that your business is equipped to deal with phishing scams and other digital threats, we’ve created this blog post.

In this post, our team will explain what a phishing scam is, how it can affect your business, why they occur and more.

What is a phishing scam or attack?

No, we’re not talking about Jaws or any other fishing attack, this is phishing with a ‘ph’ and it can be catastrophic for a business.

In a nutshell, phishing is where cyber attackers try to con users into an action that harms their device and/or compromises a network, files or data. This can take the form of a link within an email that once clicked downloads malware onto a device or network or it can be a link shared on social media or via text.

Some common examples include ransomware, where malicious software is downloaded onto a device and the user is licked out until they pay a ransom to the person or organisation responsible for the phishing scam.

Who is affected?

While instances of phishing scams that have affected multi-national businesses such as Sony, Google and Facebook may hit the headlines, the truth is, a phishing scam is indiscriminate and can be used on a business of any size in any country in the world.

Your business may be targeted specifically for the data it possesses or it could be part of a mass attack where cyber attackers are looking to secure a large amount of data and passwords in order to sell that information to other attackers or organisations.

Phishing scams are also on the rise with approximately 64% of businesses having experienced a phishing attack of some form and they are now the most common form of cyber attack in the UK.

A phishing scam can cause more than just financial damage

Initial costs incurred by businesses as a result of a phishing scam can vary wildly, ranging from hundreds of pounds to millions. In fact, in 2019 the average cost of fixing a successful cyber-attack for small or micro organisations was just over £3,000.

However, becoming the victim of a phishing scam can damage more than just a business’s bank balance.

Data leaks that occur as a result of phishing can destroy trust between a customer or client and your business and may result in a business being tarnished forever.

Likewise, a phishing attack can be devastating for those whose companies have very closely guarded intellectual property that helps them remain ahead of competitors. A breach by a phishing scam could see businesses lose that information and worse still, it could be shared openly for anyone to see, which consequently can impact the revenue and growth of a business for many years after the attack occurs.

How can my business stop a phishing attack?

According to the National Cyber Security Centre, the best approach to defending your business or organisation from falling victim to a phishing scam is to take a multi-layered approach to your cyber-security.

Our team can help you achieve this.

The key points that our team will help implement in accordance with the NCSC to achieve this are:

• Make it difficult for attackers to reach users
• Help users and members of your organisations identify and report suspected phishing emails and texts
• Protect your organisation from the effects of a scam
• Help your systems respond quickly to potential threats

Contact our team to improve your security

We want every business and organisation to be able to operate without having to worry about the threat of a cyber-attack.

However, whilst we cannot stop attacks from happening, we can help minimise their attack on your business.

We work with businesses and organisations to identify holes in network and device defences and ensure that every device and network has the best possible protection.

If you would like to speak to our team to learn more about how we can help, please contact us today on 01298 74780.