Best Practices to Prevent Phishing Attacks

Prevent Phishing : Reading time: 11 mins

As a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, Nexigen is well aware of the importance of training in protecting against phishing attacks and other cyber threats. 

While no cybersecurity techniques can completely prevent Phishing or other cyber attacks, employee education and awareness are essential in helping to spot and avoid these attacks. This is why training is a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity program. This article is helping to create awareness about phishing best practices.

One of the critical elements of an effective anti-phishing strategy is using technical controls to protect end users. Malicious emails will inevitably wind up in some users’ email inboxes, and the fewer emails received, the less likely your users will fall victim to a phishing attack. To reduce the risk of credential theft and malware, Nexigen recommends adopting a Zero Trust strategy.

One of the most effective technical controls is email content filtering systems. These systems use a combination of methods to identify malicious emails and block, quarantine, or allow them based on predetermined policies. 

Email content filters protect against malicious URLs by rewriting or stripping links or working with web filtering tools to scan websites before allowing users to connect. Established vendors can offer both on-premises and cloud-based email content filtering solutions. Cloud-native API-enabled email security (CAPES) vendors work with cloud email providers such as Microsoft to provide an extra layer of protection.

Another critical technical control is email authentication. Email authentication uses DMARC (domain-based authentication, reporting, and conformance) to detect incoming emails with false “from” addresses. However, DMARC only works when the sender policy framework and DomainKeys Identified Mail are used. Implementing authentication without disrupting legitimate email traffic can be challenging for most internal teams, but some vendors can help.

Anti-phishing solutions will not be successful without security awareness and training solutions mandated to all staff. E-learning modules, assessments, workshops, themed content, user data segmentations, and phishing simulation platforms are necessary for helping users recognize phishing attempts and report them to the security team.

Employee education protects the user, but it also helps alert the rest of the organization to the threat, rather than relying solely on the CISO to identify and respond to phishing attacks.

Nexigen can help you arrange these types of solutions, which creates a Phishing best practice for your organization.

In addition to training, it is essential to leverage threat intelligence to inform users about the latest attack methods and impersonation attempts.

Anti-phishing and email security vendors can collect data from phishing attempts, open-source intelligence, or other private feeds to provide users with detailed information.

Your employees can recognize and report phishing attempts by staying up to date on the latest threats.

Even with the best technical controls and employee education in place, it is still possible for phishing attacks to make it through these defenses. That’s why it is essential to have an incident response plan to handle these attacks.

This should include a system for reporting phishing emails, a process for analyzing and containing the threat, and steps for recovering from the attack.

By following these best practices and implementing a comprehensive anti-phishing strategy that combines technical controls, employee education, and incident response planning, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks and other cyber threats.

At Nexigen, we are committed to helping our clients implement these best practices and safeguard their networks and data.

Don’t wait until it’s too late – start implementing these measures today to ensure the security and integrity of your business.