Today employees face a significant number of digital security risks both professionally and personally. Not only can these threats impact employees’ lives they can also significantly impact the organizations they work for. Unfortunately, cyber crimes have become much more sophisticated in recent years and many attacks involve social engineering. In fact, the number of cyber crimes involving this type of manipulation has risen high enough this year that the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center issued a public service announcement in May warning businesses of the increase in social engineering attacks that have targeted company employees (1).
How do cybercriminals target individuals to gain access to businesses?
In these situations, cyber criminals target individuals and use their personal information to manipulate and trick them into sharing sensitive information. For example, Uber’s recent data breach was caused by a cybercriminal who sent a message to an employee posing as a member of their IT department (2). They persuaded the employee to share their passwords which allowed the hacker to gain access to Uber’s internal systems.
High-net-worth-individuals are common targets
Cybercrimes of this nature have also become a significant issue for many high-net-worth individuals that own their own companies. A 2017 study by Campden Research and the law firm Schillings showed that 28 % of HNWIs have been the victim of at least one cyber attack. A full one-third of respondents in the study indicated that they do not have a cybersecurity plan in place.
For example, in 2020 Shark Tank judge Barbara Corcoran nearly lost $400,000 in a social engineering scam involving phishing (3). A cybercriminal impersonating her assistant sent an email to her bookkeeper requesting payment related to some real estate investments. The email address they used was almost identical to the actual email address. The transaction was prevented when the bookkeeper sent an email to the assistant’s correct address asking about the request.
How can you protect your employees against cyberattacks?
With a quick internet search, you will find articles stressing the importance of having a rock-solid cyber security plan in place. You will also see pages filled with information about how to provide effective employee cybersecurity training. Although these are important steps to take, they do not address the fact that employees’ personal information like their names, addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, or even social security information can often be found on the internet and can be sold by data brokers. This type of sensitive information is what many cyber criminals and hackers use for social engineering.
What else can business owners do to protect their employees and mitigate risk? They can help their employees take control of their digital footprints. Most people do not know what information about them is available on the internet. Even when they do find their personal information online they often do not know how to go about getting it removed. One of the best ways business owners and executives can protect their companies and reduce risk is by working with a digital privacy service.
Services like Hush can help your employees monitor their digital footprints and remove vulnerabilities. At Hush, our AI-driven platform finds potential risks across the web and provides people with the opportunity to remove the information that they want to keep private. We also provide personalized counseling to employees on how to manage areas like social media for optimal control.
Help your employees take control of their digital footprints
Organizations that offer privacy services like Hush can help protect their business while giving their employees peace of mind. Many Hush customers are shocked to find how much of their personal information is available online.
“ It’s enlightening and scary at the same time to see how much information is available about me personally. The service Hush provides is critical to protecting yourself and your family in the digital age.” -Recent Hush Customer
Interested in learning more about how Hush can help protect the digital privacy of your employees? Contact us today for a personalized assessment of your security vulnerabilities. Discover how Hush can help you protect your employees and your business from privacy breaches giving you peace of mind.