The healthcare sector significantly suffers from cyber attacks, including phishing emails. It is a modern problem that can cause much trouble and fines. HIPAA violations lead to a crucial loss o money and a long time to sort out the problem. Organizations should strictly follow the HIPAA recommendations to keep protected health information (PHI) safe. One phishing email can serve as a tool for data breaches and fraud. If you want to be cybersecurity, you need to know how to recognize suspicious emails and avoid mistakes in the protection. Let`s explain what phishing emails are and how to deal with them.
What Is A Phishing Email?
Phishing is one of the most tried and true attack vectors used by threat actors to gain sensitive information. Organizations should take care of this newest and most sophisticated form of malware. Hackers can steal your money or your identity, by getting you to reveal personal information including credit card numbers, bank information, and passwords. Cybercriminals may pretend to be reputable companies, patients, colleagues, friends, or acquaintances in a fake message. Unfortunately, it is a popular form of cybercrime because of its effectiveness. Hackers have been successful in using emails and text messages to hospitals and clinics. They often get people to respond with their personal information. The best defense for clinicians is awareness and knowing what to look for.
HIPAA Compliance And Phishing
If you fail to prevent phishing attacks, it doesn`t mean warrant a HIPAA penalty immediately. However, the failure to implement sufficient protections to prevent attacks could land HIPAA-covered entities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights is tasked with enforcing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Rules. OCR conducts audits of covered entities and investigates each and every data breach that impacts more than 500 individuals. Those investigations often result in the discovery of violations of HIPAA Rules.
Despite the fact that there is no specific mention of phishing in HIPAA, phishing is a threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ePHI. It is covered under the administrative requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule so HIPAA-covered entities are required to provide ongoing, appropriate training to staff members. Any HIPAA-covered entity that experiences a phishing attack that results in the exposure of patients’ or health plan members’ protected health information could have historic HIPAA violations uncovered. §164.308.(a).(5).(i) requires security awareness training to be provided, and while these are addressable requirements and they cannot be ignored.
Recognizing a Phishing Email Starts with Comprehension of What a Phishing Attack Entails
To (recognize a phishing email), one must first comprehend what it is. A phishing email is a message conveyed to a receiver to ask them to carry out a particular action. The sender could use social engineering methods to make the email appear authentic and include an invitation to press a link, open an attachment, or provide confidential data, e.g. login details.
An especially dangerous form of phishing attack is social engineering. Such emails are designed to look authentic and relevant to the recipient, making them all the more likely to take the requested action. If this action involves clicking on a link to a malicious website, opening a dangerous attachment, or providing login credentials, the results could be disastrous as the attacker can gain access to the corporate network with no detection.
Examples and Tactics Involved in Phishing Emails
Employees are being targeted by a new credential phishing scam claiming they are eligible for a salary increase. Cofense’s Phishing Defense Center (PDC) has noticed a malicious phishing campaign that is attempting to steal Office365 (O365) login information by exploiting the hopes of employees expecting a salary bump. A Cryptocurrency Miner is included in this high-tech Keylogger.
A recent phishing campaign has been identified that is utilizing the Hawkeye Keylogger malware to load a cryptocurrency miner. Sophisticated Credential Phishing Techniques are Being Used to Conceal the Scam Pages from Vigilant Users
The Phishing Defense Center of Cofense has identified a phishing campaign that is trying to collect login credentials from Stripe users. Criminals are attracted to this since they can use compromised accounts to obtain credit card data and scam people. Stay abreast of the most current phishing assaults and movements in digital crime.
The Efficiency of Phishing Emails that are Manipulated through Social Engineering
It’s shocking how much knowledge one can gain about someone from the Internet without breaking into databases or coercing them into giving up private details. Cybercriminals can quickly compile personal information from social media, professional networks, and other web sources to recognize what motivates people.
Unearthing information about a worker’s kids, their educational institution, and an upcoming event at the school to send an email to the parent encouraging them to follow a link or open an attachment concerning their kid’s involvement in the affair should be quite straightforward. With the development of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, phishers will be able to compile this data much faster in the upcoming days.
7 Indicators That Could Point to a Phishing Email
Security personnel can be proactive in safeguarding the network by monitoring for potential phishing attacks and any suspicious emails. Additionally, it is recommended to discern which employees are best at recognizing authentic phishing emails to act quickly if more than one alert of an attack is detected. This would help to restrain the chances of the threat propagating across the system and reduce the disruption caused.
The fundamentals of Defense’s Human Phishing Defenses involve simulations of actual socially engineered phishing assaults for educating employees in the recognition and reporting of phishing emails – no matter if they have been opened and acted on or not. Additionally, if a phishing email has eluded detection, our solutions offer end-to-end phishing mitigation to speed up response and resolution.
How we can avoid the problems caused by plagiarism by altering the structure of the text without changing the meaning or the context. We can do this by utilizing a different set of words or phrases while keeping the original concept intact. Doing so ensures that the idea expressed remains the same while avoiding any duplication issues. Email filters may struggle to detect socially engineered phishing emails as they are often so sophisticated. These emails have the correct Sender Policy Frameworks and SMTP controls to pass the first part of the filter and they are rarely sent in bulk from blacklisted IP addresses to avoid being blocked by real-time Blackhole Lists. Furthermore, since they are usually crafted on an individual basis, even advanced email filters with Greylisting capabilities may not pick them up.
Nevertheless, it is possible to identify standard traits of phishing emails, which often aim to evoke emotions like curiosity, pity, dread, and greed. If employees are made aware of these markers and instructed on what to do when a suspicious email is discovered, the time required for training them to recognize phishing emails can be used to prevent breaches and network infiltration by hackers.
1. Requests for Immediate Attention via Email
Emails that promise an unpleasant result or a missed chance unless immediate steps are taken are frequent attempts at phishing. Attackers will use this method to try and push the recipient into action without allowing them to examine the message for any irregularities or discrepancies.
2. Correspondences Containing Poor Grammar and Spelling Errors
It is possible to differentiate phishing emails from legitimate ones by looking out for errors in spelling and grammar. Many businesses have set up their systems so that all emails leaving the organization are checked for proper grammar. Furthermore, web browsers often have auto-correct and highlighting features that can be used to spot typos.
3. Messages with a Stranger Introduction or Salutation
The emails between work colleagues are typically informal in nature. If the message begins with “Dear” or has phrases not generally used in informal conversation, one should be suspicious of its source since it may be from someone not familiar with the type of workplace communication used in the company.
4. Variations in Email Addresses, Hyperlinks & Domain Names
To detect phishing scams, focus on the details of an email, such as the address, links, and domain names. If the email is from an organization you have communicated with before, compare it to their earlier emails. You can check if a link is valid by hovering your mouse over it to see what appears. If a message is said to be from a company such as Google, but there is a different domain name, report it as a phishing attempt.
5. Requests for Login Credentials, Payment Info, or Sensitive Information Through Emails
It’s important to be aware of emails from senders that are not recognized, especially when they ask for login credentials, payment details, or other confidential data. Spear phishers can create fake login pages that appear authentic and send a link in the email which leads to the counterfeit page. Therefore, people should not enter any information unless they are completely sure the email is authentic when they are rerouted to a login page or told that a payment is due.
6. Suspicion Surrounding Attachments
When it comes to job-related file sharing, collaboration platforms like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Dropbox are commonly used. Consequently, internal emails with attachments should be treated warily – particularly if they have an unknown file extension or one that is frequently linked to malware (e.g. .zip, .exe, .scr, etc.).
7. Emails That Appear Too Good to Be True
Emails that seem too good to be true and offer a reward to the recipient for clicking a link or opening an attachment are likely phishing emails if the sender is unknown or the contact was not initiated by the recipient. It is important to ensure that all employees are well-trained in detecting and reporting any suspicious emails, even if they have already been opened.
If one of the workforce members is a target of a phishing attack, others will be as well. Thus, this step is necessary to make sure that the phrase “If you see something, say something” is a permanent rule in the workplace, and that there is an established system in place to help employees report emails they have noticed or already opened.
How To Recognize Phishing Emails
- Check the sender’s email address: Phishing emails often come from fake or spoofed email addresses that look like real ones. To verify the sender’s email address, hover your mouse over the “from” field and make sure the address matches what you would expect to see.
- Look for appeals or threats: Phishing emails often contain appeals or threats that are intended to get you to act quickly and without thinking. For example, the email may claim that your account has been compromised and that you need to take immediate action to prevent further damage. Be wary of any email that tries to create a sense of urgency or panic.
- Do not click on links or download attachments: Phishing emails often contain links to fake websites or attachments that contain malware. Before clicking on any links or downloading any attachments, make sure the email is legitimate. If you are unsure, do not click anything and contact the sender directly to confirm that the email is legitimate.
- Check for spelling and grammatical errors: Phishing emails are often written by non-native speakers or automated programs so that they may contain spelling and grammatical errors. If the email looks unprofessional or contains errors, it may be a phishing attempt.
- Be suspicious of unexpected emails: Phishing emails often arrive unexpectedly and may be from organizations or individuals you don’t know. If you receive an unexpected email that asks for personal information or contains a suspicious link, be cautious and verify the legitimacy of the email before taking any action.
Takeaways
To summarize, to recognize phishing emails, be vigilant and pay attention to signs such as fake or spoofed email addresses, calls or threats, links to fake websites or malware, spelling and grammatical errors, and unexpected emails. By following these tips, you can protect yourself from phishing attacks and keep your personal information safe.
