Phishing Attack Prevention With Sophos
Advanced phishing email security and protection
With Sophos phishing attack prevention capabilities, you can protect your organization against its biggest threat: end users. Ransomware and targeted threats try to trick end users into making mistakes. But these attacks don’t stand a chance – Sophos deep learning AI future-proofs against threats that are yet-to-be-discovered
Every day, SophosLabs processes millions of emails to stay ahead of the latest attacks, because let’s face it: phishing is constantly evolving. With Sophos Email Security and Sophos Phish Threat, you can easily protect your organization against both the known and the unknown.
Sophos Email Security helps keep threats from getting in through email, while Phish Threat helps your end users recognize the tactics phishing messages use to try to trick them into giving up pivotal information.
Plus, Sophos sandboxing utilizes the same powerful technology as our award-winning Intercept X software, which isolates threats before they can infiltrate your entire organization.
Sophos phishing attack solutions can:
Better defense, better education – safer organizations
Sophos knows phishing isn’t going away, and that’s why we’re constantly developing new and improved tactics for preventing attacks. Whether it’s our research teams analyzing and identifying the latest trends, or offering ongoing, impactful training with Phish Threat, your organization will be ready for the next phishing attack.
Hackers are incredibly skilled at the social engineering that goes into phishing, especially through email. Now you can engineer the safety of your end users and entire organization with Sophos phishing attack prevention.
Telltale signs of phishing
There’s an infinite variety of phishing emails out there, in all shapes and sizes, but fortunately there are some “tells” you can look for to help suss out potential scams.
- It just doesn’t look right. Does the message claim to come from someone you do work with, such as a client, your bank, a social networking site, or even your own company, but there’s something a little off about it? Trust your instincts.
- Generic salutations. Instead of directly addressing you, phishing emails often use generic names like \"Dear Customer.\" This is because phishing emails are often sent out in large batches, and using impersonal salutations saves time.
- Links to official looking sites asking you to enter personal information or confidential data. These spoofed sites are often very convincing, so be aware what information you’re being asked to reveal.
- Unexpected emails that use specific information about you, like job title, previous employment, or personal interests. This information can be gleaned from social networking sites like LinkedIn to make a phishing email more convincing.
- Emails asking you to take action quickly. Thieves often use unnerving calls to action (such as saying your account has been breached) to trick you into moving fast without thinking, revealing information you ordinarily would not.
Common phishing scams and mistakes:
- Poor grammar or spelling. This is often a dead giveaway. Unusual syntax is also a sign that something is wrong.
- “If you don’t respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed.” By creating a sense of urgency, the thief hopes you’ll make a mistake and act without thinking.
- “You’ve won the grand prize!” These phishing emails are common, but easy to spot. A similar, trickier variation is asking you to complete a survey (thus giving up your personal information) in return for a prize.
- “Verify your account.” These messages spoof real emails asking you to verify your account with a site or organization. Any time you receive a message asking to verify your account, look for signs of phishing, and always question why you’re being asked to verify – there’s a good chance it’s a scam.
- Cybersquatting. This comes into play with spoofed websites. Often, thieves will purchase and “squat” on domain names that are similar in name to an official website in the hopes that users go to the wrong site. Always take a moment to check out the URL before entering your personal information.
Not everything that smells ‘phishy’ is a phishing email. Other potential messages include:
The First Line of Defense: You
You are your own first line of defense against phishing. Arm yourself by knowing the signs and acting with caution. By educating yourself, you’ll be able to avoid falling victim to a phishing scheme – and putting your personal data, or that of your organization, at risk.
People open 30% of phishing emails.
Your users are the weakest link in your phishing defenses. By opening and clicking on phishing emails they put you and your organization at risk.
Download your free anti-phishing kit and get a wealth of useful resources to help you educate users on the threat of phishing, including:
- Prevent phishing educational web page
- Poster for your workplace
- PowerPoint presentation for a phishing training session
- 10 telltale signs of a phishing attack
- Phishing Spot the Difference
- Don’t take the bait whitepaper