Businesses face a relentless assault on their banking security. The first wave of attack comes from the inherent risks of digital transactions. Risks include insider theft and contractor fraud. There’s also the constant challenge of maintaining transaction security and privacy.
The second war front is the dangers that employees face. They constantly face the risk of phishing attacks that could breach your company’s banking defenses. Their vigilance and awareness are crucial in this fight.
Financial fraud is not just another threat. It’s a growing epidemic that is affecting previously untouched business community sectors. Last year alone, businesses lost nearly 3 Billion USD to email compromise alone.
How can companies strengthen their finances and secure their financial information? We have some actionable strategies for business owners and employees.
Factors That Contribute to Growing Financial Losses
Hackers love AI. They’re using AI to make cyberattacks faster and more successful. They’ve even created a chatbot like WormGPT, which generates malicious code. They also have FraudGPT, which assists scammers in crafting phishing emails. Hackers often use AI to research the social media of potential targets and then create tailor-made malware attacks.
There are more examples where criminals use AI to make attacks seem legitimate:
- Malicious chatbots can persuade people to share sensitive information or click on harmful links.
- AI technology can replicate a person’s voice, a capability known as voice cloning. Scammers can exploit voice cloning to convince people that a family member is contacting them.
- AI can also create convincing fake videos and images of celebrities or your family to make you fall for scams.
The Dangers of Phishing Deserve a Special Mention
Phishing attacks are becoming very sophisticated. The attacker’s goal is to infect your devices with ransomware or other types of malware.
Criminals pretend to represent a well-known company or organization. They bombard people with false notifications, such as social media or delivery notifications. All it takes is for someone to click on the poisoned link in the message or open an infected attachment. Remember, almost every Microsoft Office file, including XXLs, can carry a malware payload.
There’s also a danger from SMS phishing, also called smishing, and vishing, which uses voice calls to trick the victim into sharing sensitive information.
The Risks Extend Outside the Office
People who use their devices for work may find it hard to separate work and play. They often encounter unsafe links or files on their personal social media accounts or when they shop online using their work devices.
Even banking experts can fall prey to phishing attacks or open risky files.
This could lead to financial loss or a malware infection of their devices. Once infected, their devices can spread infection throughout the office network.
Security Tips to Help You Secure Your Finances
With these severe threats coming from all sides, we must apply basic safety principles to both our work and private lives.
- Try to prevent spam from reaching employees. Ask your IT team or email hosting company to install spam-fighting solutions on your mail servers.
- Educate and empower employees to recognize scams and phishing. They should always be skeptical of unsolicited communications and requests for personal information.
- Only use a secure Wi-Fi network to access your bank and other sensitive files. Employees who connect from outside must use a VPN to secure their connections. A simple VPN download can save your company a fortune. A VPN encrypts your digital traffic via a private virtual tunnel, adding an extra security layer to your online activities. An advanced VPN can also block harmful documents with built-in Threat Protection.
- Install a full-spectrum anti-malware solution to prevent viruses and other malware infections.
- Lock any physical credit cards, bank statements, checkbooks, and IDs in a secure place. Use a shredder to destroy outdated identification and financial documentation.
- Encrypt and store all digital financial information in a digital vault. A folder on Google Drive or Dropbox may not be secure.
- Unlink company social media accounts from the email address you use for online banking.
- Set up transaction alerts or notifications to receive real-time updates on banking transactions. Scrutinize each transaction. Beware of MFA fatigue attacks. That’s when hackers bombard you with push notifications asking you to approve a login attempt.
- Keep your devices secure with regular updates.
- Use strong passwords. Create unique passwords for each online login. Use a password manager—humans cannot remember the number of passwords we need nowadays! AI algorithms can crack passwords much faster than traditional methods. Also, enable two-factor authentication for additional account protection.
- Follow reputable news sources reporting fraud and cybersecurity issues. Use sources like the Federal Trade Commission or FBI to learn about emerging scams and fraud trends.
- And finally, trust your instincts. If something does not feel right about a phone call, email, or advertisement, it may not be legitimate. Investigate it before you click or share information.
Create an Awareness of Cyber Risks
Businesses face a complex landscape of financial security threats. They need a multifaceted approach to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.
Office workers can be the weakest link in your business’s financial security. Prevent incidents by creating general cyber hygiene awareness. Take steps to ensure that employees protect their laptops and smartphones from cyber attacks. Supply them with reliable anti-virus software and a reputable VPN. These measures will help prevent risks from private social media sites or web browsing from spilling over to the office environment.
