Misspelled words and bad grammar are tell-tale signs of phishing. Why don’t phishers learn spelling and grammar? Can’t they afford a copy of Strunk and White? Phishers don’t need to spell better because their poorly-written schemes still fool enough people. It’s just math for the phishers — a numbers game. If you handle IT […]
Why do phishers waste their time with such obvious phishing scams when they can do so much better? One possible answer: They don’t have to do better. They send out so many emails that they only need a very low percentage of people to click. And people always do. In fact, if phishing emails became […]
A popular way some organizations are raising awareness about phishing is by engaging in simulated phishing exercises of their workforce. Such simulated phishing can be beneficial, but there are some potential pitfalls and also important things to do to ensure that it is effective. 1. Be careful about data collection and discipline Think about the data […]
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council recently released a helpful short guide to preventing phishing attacks. Merchants and any other organization that accepts payment cards most follow the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). One of the requirements of the PCI DSS is to train the workforce about how to properly collect, handle, […]
I am pleased to announce the launch of our new training program, Social Engineering: Spies and Sabotage. This course is a short module (~7 minutes long) that provides a general introduction to social engineering. After discussing several types of social engineering (phishing, baiting, pretexting, and tailgaiting), the course provides advice for avoiding these tricks and […]
A study recently revealed that nearly 25% of data breaches involve phishing, and it is the second most frequent data security threat companies face. Phishing is an enormous problem, and it is getting worse. In a staggering statistic, on average, a company with 10,000 employees will spend $3.7 million per year handling phishing attacks.
by Daniel J. Solove Although we are seeing increasingly more sophisticated attempts at phishing, it appears as though many phishers still haven’t been able to get their hands on a program with spell check. Why are we still seeing the $10 million lottery winning emails? Or the long lost relative of yours living in Fiji […]
By Daniel J. Solove I produce computer-based privacy and data security training, so I’m often in the hunt for stock photos. One of the hardest things in the world to do is to find a stock photo of a hacker that doesn’t look absolutely ridiculous. I’ve gone through hundreds of hacker stock photos, and […]