In recent polls, what challenges do you think drew the biggest concern from businesses owners? IT security ranks highest across the board, and why not? Your most sensitive electronic data faces more threats than ever. Phishing scams are one of the worst problems. Everyone has had some experience with these cyberattacks before. Not only can they affect your information at home, but these scams can circumvent security measures for your business, as well. Scam artists now use a variety of methods, including social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to access your data. Avoid the threats with professional IT consulting in Los Angeles.
How Phishing Works
Online scam artists use whatever means they can to access your data. Phishing scams are often the subtlest way for hackers to take advantage of you or your employees. With phishing, users offer access to their data freely. Using social engineering and email, phishers get victims to visit a fraudulent website. This site may ask for personal information such as names, addresses, usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers.
Besides gaining access to sensitive information, these fake websites may take advantage of your computer’s vulnerabilities and install malware. By exploiting flaws in a browser, an attacker may be able to bypass your IT security altogether. They can then install something like a Trojan horse that can capture private data without your employees even knowing.
The Latest Scams
One of the biggest scams making headlines involves professional social networking site LinkedIn. In these latest attacks, hackers use compromised Premium LinkedIn accounts to send out emails to other users. Attackers make slight alterations to a URL included in the email to redirect traffic to a fake site. Once a user has entered their information, they have compromised the entire account. Any sensitive data gathered by an attacker stands to do significant damage to a user’s identity.
How to Avoid Phishing
As the nature and variety of cyberattacks evolve, so do the security solutions available to businesses. Partnering with an IT consulting firm in Los Angeles serves as an effective first line of defense when combating threats online.
Educate your employees about the dangers of phishing. Unlike other cyberattacks, phishing does not rely on complicated hacking or the remote installation of programs. All it takes is one mistake to make the scam a success and compromise the safety of your data.
Make sure that you keep browsers and authentication software up to date. There are constant updates and patches released no matter what platform your company uses for web browsing. Maintaining your programs aids in protection against the latest scams.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of IT security challenge your company faces, you can rely on the experts here at Advanced Networks. We have provided valuable IT consulting in Los Angeles for a wide variety of businesses. Whether you need help educating employees on best practices to avoid online scams, security to protect client data or maintenance on existing systems, we can help. Contact us today to make your business a secure one.
