Cybersecurity Awareness Month week 4: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, but beware the year-round trick-or-treaters!

You may have a bowl of candy prepared for the ghosts and goblins to arrive soon, but are you prepared for the hackers too? They’re already at your doorstep and they have all they need to give you a good fright! Want to learn how cyberattackers are like trick-or-treaters? Find out below:

Hackers will try to SCARE you!

The bad guys will use scare tactics to get you to act on their behalf. Phishing emails often use some form of threat, overt (like threatening to release damaging information about you) or implied (such as pretending to be a supervisor and asking for help immediately) to make you take note.

Solution: Ignore the message, or contact your supervisor directly using a known-good number or address, not replying to the original message.

They’ll try to TRICK you!

Consider typosquatters, who register tricky domain names, like Wiliams, Willians or Williarns that may appear at a glance to be close enough to what you expect it to be, you may actually fool yourself into thinking it’s legitimate. That can be a dangerous trick if used in a malicious URL!

Solution: Verify the email independently, especially if appearing to come from your bank, but never click the link!

And they’ll try to TREAT you…

They will offer you gift cards. They will promise a job. They might even put you in touch with a Nigerian prince who wants you to hold a few million dollars for him. It doesn’t matter how big the prize is, it’s bait on their hook. If you’ll only open that document attached to this email and complete the form…

Solution: Stop. Think. Connect.

Thank you!

Thank you for being a cybersecurity partner with Williams and for a great Cybersecurity awareness month! #BeCyberSmart in 2020 and beyond!