June, 2021

Gone Phishing!

Hello From IT!

This month’s Tech Bits is all about Phishing. We will be going over what phishing actually is, why we test you, and what to look out for when looking at an email that may be suspicious.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message. The recipient is then tricked into clicking a malicious link, which can lead to the installation of malware, the freezing of the system as part of a ransomware attack (malware that employs encryption to hold a victim’s information at ransom), or the revealing of sensitive information.

This is something that happens every day, some quite obvious than others. Ransomware is a hot button topic that you may have seen in the news recently

Here are some examples of phishing that you may encounter.

As you can see from the red underlines, there are many stand-out issues with this email that make it not legitimate. The Social Engineering Red Flags is an amazing guide that shows what to look out for and ask yourself logical questions. For instance “Why would I receive an email from the Marriot in my work email?”

We think it is always important to regard “The Social Engineering Red Flags” not only for your work email but for personal email as well. We think it's equally important to be in the know about phishing and ransomware attacks. In 2016 cybercriminals had extorted 209 million dollars from their victims just in the first 3 months of that year. Their victims include individuals, businesses, education, health, and government institutions.

Pass the Test!

Besides being aware of suspicious emails, websites and avoiding unsecured networks, backing up all your work files on Box is the best solution is when it comes to ransomware. IT, now and then, will send out a Phishing Test. The expectation is not for us to fool you! In Fact, there are intentional red flags in every test. We would like everyone to learn to identify what those red flags are and not to further engage with a suspicious email. If you see an email that looks suspicious, you can forward it to our ticket system at itsupport@episcopalrelief.org. You can delete the email and let us know as well. Finally, you can report the email as spam or phishing by clicking on the 3 vertical dots in the right corner of the email.

That’s it for this month’s TechBits! If you found this information useful and intriguing, let us know the value it provided by emailing us at techbits@episcopalrelief.org. We’ll see you next