Recently Goliath and Goliath lost R300k in an email scam.
In today’s hyper-connected environment, no company, no matter its size or sector, is immune to the ever-growing threat of cyber fraud. Indeed, whether your business is a one-man show or a sprawling multinational, it is wise to assume that you will – at some point – fall in the crosshairs of a savvy cyber criminal. From ransomware to social engineering, the threats come in many forms – and everyone is vulnerable.
“Despite the huge amount of press generated by digital scams such as invoice interception and phishing we are still finding companies which get caught unawares. It is clear that South African business leaders need to drive awareness internally and take even more proactive measures” cautions Colin Thornton, MD of leading IT consultancy Dial a Nerd.
To begin with, he advises leaders to implement training or induction processes which highlight the risks and how to spot them. After that regular tests can be performed reasonably cheaply by such as sending fake phishing emails – and then identifying where the weaknesses lie. No matter how extensively a company invests in firewalls and anti-virus software, which are still essential, it’s often employees who inadvertently introduce threats. Even if there isn’t a threat being introduced by email attachment, or website link, an uneducated employee could be a soft target for social engineering or hacking.