Now that we're aware of the rising sophistication of scams (as seen in the last blog: Social Engineering in the Age of AI), it's vital to stay vigilant. So, what's the most effective way to safeguard ourselves from phishing, quid pro quo, and deepfakes?
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides critical advice to enhance your organization's defenses against phishing. They emphasize three key strategies:
1. Implement Anti-Spoofing Protocols: Protect your email communications by using standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols help verify that emails sent from your domain are legitimate, reducing the risk of impersonation.- SPF restricts who can send emails from your domain.
- DKIM adds a secure signature to your emails, confirming their origin.
- DMARC guides email receivers on handling emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, helping to weed out fraudulent messages.
2. Minimize Public Information: Limit the amount of publicly available information about your organization. This reduces the chances of attackers using this data to craft convincing phishing attempts.
3. Filter and Block Suspicious Emails: Establish systems to detect and block phishing, spam, and malware. Adjust these systems to balance between filtering emails into a separate folder and blocking them, ensuring user convenience while maintaining security.
For a more detailed dive please look at the NCSC's full documentation on their website (can find the link at the bottom)
Secondly, when addressing quid pro quo situations, where offers or requests may not be straightforward, it's vital to exercise diligence:
1. Conduct Thorough Checks: Before engaging with unexpected offers or requests, thoroughly verify the legitimacy of the entity or individual. It's essential to ensure they are reputable and their proposal is genuine.
2. Consult with Trusted Contacts: If you have any doubts, discuss the situation with reliable contacts, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to gain perspective and advice.
3. Protect your information: Avoid giving out personal or financial information if you receive unexpected or unsolicited inquiries. Real organizations usually won't ask for this information without having talked to you first.
4. Report Anomalies: If you see or suspect fraud, tell the appropriate authorities or reliable organizations to help stop more scams and keep others safe.
Lastly, to effectively address deepfake threats, it's important to be alert and knowledgeable. Look for signs like inconsistent textures on skin, odd shadows, irregular blinking, or any inconsistencies in reflections or facial movements. Also, watch for lips not matching speech, unnatural lip shades, out-of-place facial hair, or peculiar moles. Strengthen your organization's defense by:
1. Boosting Security Measures: Use extra steps like multi-factor authentication and verbal confirmations when verifying. Regularly update and enhance your security methods to fight against possible online threats.
2. Maintaining Awareness: Stay informed about the latest in cybersecurity and regularly update your security rules to meet new standards. Make sure your team has the knowledge and tools to identify and deal with deepfakes.
In the end, it all comes down to similar actions. When protecting yourself from cyber attacks, ensure to be vigilant, implement layered security measures, and continuously educate and update your team on the latest threats and defense mechanisms.
Sources
Lawton, George. “How to Prevent Deepfakes in the Era of Generative AI: TechTarget.” Security, TechTarget, 12 Apr. 2023, www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-prevent-deepfakes-in-the-era-of-generative-AI.
Miller, Emily. “Quid pro No-Go: How to Avoid a Quid pro Quo Social Engineering Attack.” BitLyft, BitLyft, 4 Apr. 2023, www.bitlyft.com/resources/quid-pro-no-go-how-to-avoid-a-quid-pro-quo-social-engineering-attack.
“Phishing Attacks: Defending Your Organisation.” NCSC, 1 Mar. 2024, www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/phishing.
