The type of phishing which is highly used by intruders these days is spear phishing. Basically, spear-phishing is an attempt to steal sensitive data such as financial information by sending email to targeted individuals or organizations.
This is achieved by collecting personal details of the target, such as frequent locations, hometown, friends, and online purchase details. The receiver is so well-researched that the spear phisher can send personalised emails provoking their emotions.
For this reason, the receiver clicks on the mail without giving a second thought, and the purpose of cybercriminal hacking or stealing the information about bank details is met.
Additionally, spear phishing is not only limited to extracting crucial data, but the hackers can use your retrieved personal information to gain access to your system that can lead to data loss.
If unluckily your business rivals get access to your personal information, then it will not be difficult for them to gain access to your system and control it. They may even delete your crucial data to put your business in a loss.
After learning all the consequences of spear-phishing, it is crucial to keep it at bay. To safeguard yourself and your business from becoming a victim of spear-phishing, you should follow all the required preventive measures.
To help you, we have jotted some tips below that you must use to prevent data leakage and data loss.
Don’t put personal information online
The first and the foremost step towards protecting yourself from spear-phishing attack is to avoid putting your phone number online on any social media or website, especially, those numbers that are linked with your bank accounts.
It is because just using your phone number; the cybercriminal can identify you and your financial information. Be very careful with what information you give online.
Be mindful while sharing something on social media
Today, every other person is using social media to stay in touch with friends and to share their day to day activities. But, do you know that posting everything about yourself on social media platforms can be dangerous.
So, think twice before sharing anything on social media. Keep your privacy configuration high and don’t accept any unknown friend request just for the sake of the follower.
Keep your system’s software updated
Not updating software can create loopholes that hackers can use to acquire your personal details followed by financial information.
To avoid such tense scenarios, always pay attention to software update notifications and put your system on update immediately. With new updates come improvements in the security of your system.
Don’t open links or attachments in emails from an unknown source
The most crucial tip that you should follow to prevent spear-phishing attack is to avoid clicking on the links and attachments in emails you find unfamiliar.
In case you get an email from your bank, hover the mouse over the link to learn if the destination URL matches with the anchor text. If both the links don’t match then possibly, it is malicious.
Take a backup of your data
Lastly, take a backup of your data whenever and wherever you can. If you are attacked by a hacker or your rival intentionally to access your data and harm it, then backup can prevent you. Moreover, you will not have to pay money to the hacker to get back your data.
So, stay on the top of your backup schedules. Also, partner with a data recovery company to get immediate support at the time of data loss without backup.
