What is phishing?
Phishing is a cybercrime that can cause untold damage to large and small businesses and individuals with the click of a mouse or the touch of a button. Often synonymous with emails and dodgy links designed to lure you into providing sensitive information such as passwords or bank details, there is more to phishing than you might realise!

Different types of phishing

Spear phishing
This is targeted phishing, when cyber attackers go after specific departments or employees of multiple businesses and individuals. Using their skills to create websites, links, or emails that seem relevant to you, hackers try to hook you in with the aim of getting your sensitive information.

Whaling phishing
This is a phishing strategy aiming to lure CEOs, senior management, or business owners.

Smishing – SMS hacking
Becoming increasingly popular, hackers use text messages, again luring you with a link and most likely pretending to be a legitimate organisation such as a bank or government institution.

Vishing
The clue is in the name; this form of phishing makes good use of phones. The hacker calls you directly, aiming to trick you by claiming to know certain information, which may create the impression they are part of a genuine company or organisation.

Search engine phishing
Also known as SEO poisoning, this is the kind of search optimisation you can do without. Appearing at the top of the ranks, the hacker's site draws you in, prompting you to click away all your sensitive or private information. Giveaway signs that the site is dodgy could include typos or content that is too good to be true. So always hover before you click.

Email phishing
Still the most popular choice for hackers, here are some common traits you may be familiar with!

Eye-catching offers
Claiming you have won a prize or a great product, these lines are designed to grab your attention.

Hyperlinks
Always hover over links and take a good look before clicking. Trust yourself; if it looks like something does not seem right, then don’t click.

Attachments
Don’t fall for an old hacker’s favourite; if it does not look right or you don’t recognise it, don’t click on it.

Urgency
Urgent crises, appeals, or issues relating to your business that need your immediate attention are designed to get you to act quickly without thinking.

The damage
If your business is hacked and data breaches occur, the damage can be devastating. From ruining a company’s reputation to lawsuits, loss of revenue, and bankruptcy. Cybercrime is on the rise, and hackers are constantly evolving. Cyber extortion, using malware occurs when hackers steal your data, encrypt your files, and hold them for ransom, demanding large sums of money from you before they return them.

Phishing Insurance
Whether you are a huge multinational, a private contractor, a small business, or a private individual, the risk is the same. And the consequences can be devastating or, worse yet, destroy a business completely. No matter how many preventative measures you put in place, the risk of a cyberattack and, more specifically, phishing, remains constant. While cyber security software and training your team to know what to look out for will help, the risk remains. All businesses and individuals use technology in some form today; even if you don’t conduct a lot of business online, that does not mean you are immune from the perils of a cyberattack.

Businesses and individuals are unique, and often a tailored policy is the key to meeting your requirements. From third-party liability to investigatory losses to legal costs due to cyber extortion and more, the only way to guarantee your business’s survival if or when such an event occurs is to insure against it.

Get in touch to see how we can help protect your future against cyberattacks.