How do you get rid of phishing? Take our advice and protect your data

In France in 2024, one company in two said it had already suffered at least one significant cyber attack (source: CESIN annual barometer). The global cost of these attacks, which are becoming more sophisticated, combined and industrialised thanks in particular to generative artificial intelligence, is estimated at 130 billion dollars (source: Statista).

Among these cyber-malware attacks, phishing and its variants have been the dominant attack vector for several years. This article explains how to protect your company from phishing attacks and keep your data secure!

See all software Computer Security

What are the signs of a phishing attempt?

Definition of phishing

Before getting to the heart of the matter and explaining how to get rid of phishing, we'd like to give you a definition of this cyber attack. Phishing is a fraudulent technique used by cybercriminals to trick Internet users into providing personal and confidential information.

To do this, they send an email impersonating a known entity:

• energy suppliers
• telecoms operators
• email services and cloud storage,
• delivery companies
• banks,
• social security
• online payment systems,
• tax services,
• well-known e-commerce brands, etc.

In a phishing campaign, the fraudulent email asks you to update or confirm your account details, download a document (which turns out to be corrupt), or click on a link (which takes you to a malicious site).

How can you recognise a phishing attempt?

The use of generative artificial intelligence by cybercriminals greatly complicates the detection of phishing. Today's fraudulent e-mails look almost identical to real e-mails, whose identity they impersonate. However, there are still certain details that can be used to differentiate a legitimate email from a phishing email, which can give you the keys to knowing how to get rid of phishing.

🔎 Here are the things that should alert you:

• The email comes from a company or service of which you are not a customer.

• It contains an unusual sender name.

• The sender's address does not correspond to that of the real entity, including a domain name that does not conform.

• The subject of the email describes a tempting offer, or is alarmist. Similarly, the text of the email details the attractive offer or the worrying message. In both cases, the aim is to create a sense of urgency, to encourage people to click on a link or download an attachment without thinking too hard.

• The message contains grammatical or spelling errors.

• Some phishing emails are not personalised at all, apart from your email address.

• It may contain an unusual request for personal and confidential information, for example.

• The phishing email may have a dubious appearance compared with the legitimate entity's usual communications and contain a blurred or pixelated logo or images, etc.

• The links in the email point to addresses that are blatantly corrupt...

What different types of phishing can target your company?

To understand how to get rid of phishing, it is important to know how to recognise this type of attack. In addition to the "traditional" form of phishing, which consists of sending an email under the identity of a trusted third party to induce an action, cybercriminals exploit different variants to achieve their objectives.New technologies, particularly those linked to artificial intelligence and big data, have broadened their ability to lure their targets. The different types of phishing most frequently encountered in companies include :

Contextual phishing

This cyber attack consists of exploiting a problem on a connected device to get you to click on a link, download a file carrying malware, or urgently contact a number purporting to be that of a support centre.

Spear phishing

The spear phishing method is based on targeting a specific person in the company to illegally obtain their login details. This requires an initial phase of gathering information (name, position and contact details) about the victim before launching the cyber attack.

Smishing

A contraction of SMS and phishing, this attack is the counterpart of phishing on mobile devices. It uses the same methods. The cybercriminal attempts to obtain sensitive and confidential data (bank card numbers, login details, etc.) by sending fraudulent text messages. 📲

Clone phishing

To carry out a clone phishing attack, the hacker uses an identical copy of a message already received by the recipient, but adds instructions to click on a malicious link.

Whaling

This attack also involves gathering information and identifying potential targets among the company's executives. These employees are often targeted because they have access to more sensitive areas of the network and have greater privileges. When this type of attack succeeds, the hackers gain access to vital information.

Vishing

Another attack related to phishing, vishing, a contraction of voice and phishing, involves the cybercriminal calling a person and trying to extort confidential information from them by pretending to be someone close to them or a trusted third party. This is the voice version of phishing. 🗣️

Pharming

Pharming is a social engineering cyberattack in which Internet users are redirected to a fake website in order to obtain confidential login information (password, user ID). This complex attack sends malicious code to victims to modify their computer's hosts file and divert traffic to the fraudulent website.

HTTPS phishing

The aim of this attack is also to trick the target Internet user into visiting a fake site. To do this, the attacker sends them an e-mail containing a link to the website in question.

Quishing

A contraction of QR code and phishing, the aim of quishing is to direct targets to malicious sites by scanning a QR code.

Image phishing

Here, hackers use images containing malicious files designed to infect your equipment with a virus or Trojan horse if you click on them.

Business email compromise (BEC)

This attack is difficult to detect. ⚠️ It involves usurping the identity of a company partner or manager and instructing their employees to :

• transfer funds to fraudulent bank accounts,
• transmit private data, bank details, professional identifiers and contact details.

Learning how to identify the attack is the key to knowing how to react and how to get rid of phishing, whatever form it takes!

How should you react to phishing spam?

As you will have realised, phishing and its various forms represent a constant threat to businesses. The amount of spam received every day is considerable, and many of these unwanted emails are undoubtedly phishing emails. It's important to be aware of this, because the slightest error of judgement can have serious consequences for your business, impacting on its operations and even threatening its very survival.

How can you get rid of phishing in the workplace ? To respond to these attacks, it is advisable to put in place an efficient IT security policy, based on innovative technologies and the adoption of good cyber security practices by employees.

What should I do if I receive a phishing email?

When you are the victim of a phishing attempt, there are a number of things you need to bear in mind if you want to act quickly and effectively. How do you get rid of phishing emails? If you have any doubts about an email, its origin or its subject, contact the organisation in question directly to clarify the matter. Do not use the contact details on the dubious email, only those that are 100% reliable. How do you get rid of phishing if your usual contact confirms that he or she doesn't know what the e-mail in question refers to? Simply delete it and empty your email client's recycle bin.

You are being asked for personal details

If you receive a dubious email asking you to provide personal information by SMS, email or telephone, be wary and delete it immediately. You should be aware that public authorities and e-commerce platforms never ask for confidential or sensitive contact details by email, text message or telephone.

You have received a link

How do you get rid of phishing if the message you have received contains a link? Above all, don't click on it. On your computer, you can place the mouse cursor over the dubious link. If you click on it, the address to which you are likely to be directed will appear. In general, it does not correspond to the usurped identity. To be sure, you can compare this Internet address (URL) with that of the real site.

If in doubt, contact your IT department!

If you receive a suspicious message on your work computer or laptop, you should contact the IT department of the company/administration you work for.

Have you clicked on a malicious link?

Another piece of advice: if you inadvertently click on a malicious link in the phishing email, don't delete the phishing message. It will serve as proof, and your IT team will be able to study the code to extract useful information.

You should immediately pass on the information internally so that steps can be taken. Your technical teams can also report the suspicious message to Signal Spam. This service, which is associated with the CNIL, is tasked with identifying the main spammers and taking action against cyber-malware.

Your details have been stolen

Similarly, if you notice that your personal details have been stolen and are concerned that this could lead to identity theft, you should quickly file a complaint with the nearest police station or gendarmerie, or send your complaint by post to the public prosecutor at your local court.

You have shared a password

How do you get rid of phishing if you have been tricked into giving your password? In this case, it is imperative that you immediately change your login password on the site in question, as well as on all other sites or services on which you use the compromised password.

What should you do if you receive a phishing SMS?

Whether you've been tricked or not, if you've received a suspicious SMS or MMS on your mobile phone, you can report it to the 33700 platform or by texting 33700 (the service is free). You should also warn the organisation whose identity is being impersonated, report the fraudulent phishing site to the Phishing Initiative platform and inform the authorities.

👉 If you have clicked on a malicious link, how do you get rid of SMS phishing? We recommend that you follow the same procedure as for email phishing.

What should I do if I've been phished by a bank?

How do you get rid of bank phishing if the hacker succeeds in getting bank details (RIB) from the company, and following this theft you notice fraudulent transactions on its account? You should :

1. keep proof of the bank phishing,
2. stop payment on the illegal transactions
3. and notify your account manager.

To stop the cybercriminals in their tracks, you should - and this applies to all successful phishing attacks - replace your bank account login passwords with strong passwords. And report the incident internally so that all departments are informed and can redouble their vigilance.

Is there a way to stop phishing attempts?

How can I get rid of phishing? There are several solutions to protect your employees from the risks associated with the various forms of phishing. To be effective, they need to combine several elements and involve all your employees. Here's how to get rid of phishing effectively!

How can you get rid of phishing in the safest way?

How can you get rid of phishing in the most effective way? The solution involves a number of different elements that need to come together to be effective.

First of all, the answer is technological. Companies need to install high-performance cybersecurity hardware and software solutions on the various components of their infrastructure (servers, network equipment) and on user terminals (desktop and laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.) to detect attacks and deal with them. These solutions include :

• anti-virus
• anti-spam
• anti-ransomware
• firewalls
• VPN (for mobile clients),
• encryption solutions...

Among these tools, Bitdefender's GravityZone Small Business Security stands out as an all-in-one cybersecurity solution, specially designed for SMEs. It offers advanced protection against phishing attempts thanks to its anti-phishing module, which blocks known and unknown fraudulent web pages, preventing users from unwittingly divulging sensitive information. The solution also incorporates a fraud prevention system.

Key features :

• centralised management via a single console
• security supervision for all the company's terminals,
• Easy to install and administer, even without in-depth IT expertise.

GravityZone by Bitdefender

70 reviews

SEE SOFTWARE

Multilayer cybersecurity for SMEs without in-house IT

Learn more about GravityZone by Bitdefender

The response must also include common procedures and rules concerning the company's cyber security policy: frequency of OS and embedded application updates on workstations, download authorisations, password creation rules, use of connected equipment.

Finally, the answer is educational. It is useful to teach your employees what reflexes they should have when faced with a phishing campaign and how to get rid of phishing.

Incorporate anti-phishing best practice into your IT security policy

To ensure that your employees know how to get rid of phishing, it is advisable to include an educational component in your IT security policy.

This is an opportunity to teach them good practice and the right reflexes to have in order to prevent the risks upstream when they are the target of adownstream, if the phishing attempt succeeds, to know how to follow the procedure to contain the attack, isolate the equipment affected and report the phishing.

See all software Computer Security

Defeat the attempts of cybercriminals and learn how to react!

New technologies, particularly those linked to generative AI, are making phishing attacks ever more numerous and difficult to identify, especially when cybercriminals cross-reference personalisation information collected on social networks or purchased on the Dark Web.

How do you get rid of phishing when cybercriminals are using increasingly advanced technologies? Companies can do this by adopting the right technological solutions, training their staff in cyber security, and putting in place procedures tailored to different situations.