Cybercriminals Targeting Lower-Level Employees

Cybercriminals are constantly shifting their tactics.

As security vendors, business owners, and cybersecurity professionals mobilize to shore up vulnerabilities and bolster network defenses to withstand the latest threats, cybercriminals counter by altering their strategies. As the good guys move likewise, the bad guys try something new and unexpected.

Think of an insane chess game where what’s at stake is your data, the lifeblood of the modern business. If you’re forced to a checkmate, you may very well find yourselves out of business.

Lower-level employees, high-priority targets

As security measures improve, and executives and business owners get up to speed with the big threats, cybercriminals are shifting their methods. Their latest tactic is to hit rank and file employees en masse. These folks typically don’t have extensive training in cybersecurity trends.

Per Proofpoint’s Protecting People Report, about a third of phishing attacks target generic company emails (think info@ or sales@).

The precision strike mentality of some sophisticated cyberattack campaigns seems to be ignored (at least for the time being) in favor of blanket attacks targeting six or more recipients. The report mentioned 80% of the organizations experienced these types of mass attacks.

40% of the organizations in the report were on the receiving end of 50 or more phishing attacks.

Security and user awareness are vital

No longer can the security conversation be put off to a later date.

Every business, whether large or small, needs to put security and user awareness at the forefront of their priorities.

 “All it takes is one employee to click the wrong thing and your systems can be shut down,” said Brian Walker, VP of Southern Region at Thrive. “Nasty malware such as Emotet and TrickBot can spread rapidly and cause a nightmare scenario.”

“Email continues to be a large attack vector,” said Aaron Allen. “Thrive can provide services and training to help prevent system infection. Our security experts have done battle with the common strains, and we’ve developed exclusive security ‘recipes’ to combat them.”

“For the ultimate in security and IT management, contact Thrive,” said Walker. “We’ll handle all your IT (hardware and software) and cybersecurity for one fixed fee. “