January 19, 2021 | By stephen

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Phishing Ranked The Most Prevalent Type Of Cybercrime In The US As Cybersecurity Concerns Rise

• Cybersecurity

There is absolutely no doubt that cybercrime is on the rise. And based on the current trends and predictions occasioned by an increase in internet usage, institutions and enterprises will need to stay alert as the upward trend won’t stop soon.

Notably, protecting servers and systems from attacks and recovering them post attacks remain a priority. But the success of these protective or recovery missions will depend on the correct assessment and identification of possible cybercrime delivery models.

What Is The Most Reported Type Of Cybercrime In The US? Is It Malware Attacks, Phishing, DDoS, Or SQL Injection?

According to a report by Clario, phishing ranks as the most reported cybercrime here in the States. Besides, the report further confirms that one in every five Americans frets about phishing or email hacks. We won’t be wrong to insinuate that the same statistics apply for Chicagoland, too.

What Is Phishing?

Phishing.org defines phishing as a cybercrime type where attackers reach out to their targets via telephone, emails, social media platforms, or text messages. The attackers contact their targets by pretending to be legitimate institutions.

Phishing attacks aim to lure targets to provide sensitive data, including passwords, personally identifiable information, sensitive institution information, banking details, or credit card details.

Common Phishing Techniques That Attackers Use To Compromise Your Cybersecurity Systems

After the filing of the first phishing lawsuit in 2004, more phishing techniques have come up. And as the technology around cybersecurity improves, hackers continue to devise more sophisticated methods to breach computer systems, websites, and servers. Thus, you need the best IT Support systems to say safe.

The Most Common Phishing Methods Include:

• Spear Phishing – Spear phishing is specific and often targets system administrators of companies.
• Whaling – Attackers use the whaling method when their targets are the big fish, such as CEOs, Directors, CFOs, or any senior managers.
• Smishing – This type of attack uses text messaging to get the attention of the target. These messages often contain a link or a phone number that the attacker expects you to call or click.
• Vishing – Vishing has the same objective as the rest of the models. However, it uses phone calls as the primary channels to deliver the attacks.
• Search Engine Phishing – Sometimes, attackers use SEO Trojans or SEO poisoning to deliver attacks to surfers.

4 Essential Tips On How To Prevent Phishing

If you are in Chicagoland and worried about phishing like everyone in the United States is, this is our free advice. You can avoid falling victim to hackers by following these essential tips:

• Phishing Assessment and Information – Interestingly, up to 70% of enterprises don’t carry out cybercrime assessments. This makes them pretty vulnerable as an assessment aims to identify and address possible loopholes.
• Don’t Click On Suspicious Emails – Any unsolicited emails that are too good to be true, sound pretty urgent, and have suspicious links or attachments are red flags. Consider using spam filtering mechanisms to get rid of unsolicited emails.
• Update Your Browser – Popular browsers often release updates to their security systems. Keeping your browser up to date helps to shield you from security threats that attackers may exploit.

Let LeadingIT Protect Your Business From Phishing And Cybersecurity Attacks

Keeping your systems and servers secure is pretty tricky and requires an expert hand. There are a lot of processes that your in-house IT team may not be able to handle. An experienced company such as  LeadingIT will help you install an anti-phishing toolbar, install the right firewalls, and provide you with advanced IT support to cushion you from cyberattacks.

LeadingIT offers 24/7, all-inclusive, fast, and friendly technology and cybersecurity support for nonprofits, manufacturers, schools, accounting firms, religious organizations, government, and law offices with 10-200 employees across the Chicagoland area. Call us today for advanced IT support and cybersecurity services.