Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 16 | Page 35

+ EDITOR’S QUESTION CAROLYN CRANDALL, CHIEF DECEPTION OFFICER AT ATTIVO NETWORKS ////////////////// T he answer is: employee training, employee training, employee training. I can’t say it enough on training. Continual reminders and training on how to identify phishing emails and best practices on how to handle them is critical. Organisations should also conduct ongoing internal tests to see if employees will fall for simulated phishing emails and those that do should receive individual training and testing. Establishments should also make it easy for employees to submit suspicious emails with a default email alias that everyone is aware of. A better to be ‘safe than sorry’ approach will encourage employees to openly submit suspicious emails. It is also critical that the review team promptly reply without judgement on what is sent in. For efficiency, some companies will use automated systems to check to see if the emails are malicious. More advanced teams will also take the time to detonate the malware to learn more about the attacker’s tools, tactics and intent. These features can be seen in various phishing tools and in deception platforms that have built-in sandboxes. Phishing is the preferred method of attack and techniques are getting more advanced and authentic every day. For organisations to stay ahead, it will be critical to continually teach every employee, contractor and supplier best practices for not falling victim. And since we are all human, put in place detection safety nets so that in the event that mistakes are made, the attacker can’t successfully advance their attack. www.intelligentcio.com “ CONTINUAL REMINDERS AND TRAINING ON HOW TO IDENTIFY PHISHING EMAILS AND BEST PRACTICES ON HOW TO HANDLE THEM IS CRITICAL. INTELLIGENTCIO 35