AVS is One Layer of Security, YOU are the Other!
Now that anti-virus systems (AVS) are rather “under-the-radar,” we might think that we are protected from viruses. But that’s not true. Bad guys are beating the AVS systems by involving YOU.
And modern viruses are actually being DESIGNED by organized crime to target and attack banks. Zeus is a suite of applications now being sold by crime organizations. Using Zeus, a hacker (with very limited technical knowledge) can design viruses, phishing attacks, spam campaigns . . . even orchestrated attacks using all of the above! And as usual e-mail, social media sites, and chat rooms are the most targeted vulnerabilities.
Beware ALL incoming messages . . . it’s not just about avoiding those unexpected e-mail attachments anymore. Apply the same vigilance you hopefully use when processing incoming e-mail messages to your use of social media sites, blogs, and chat rooms.
The incoming malicious e-mail messages are much more sophisticated than the old days of “I are your friend!”
Recently attacks have come in the form of messages with the following subject lines:
- Final Technical Report
- New Patterns in Al-Qaeda Financing
- INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY REMINDER
- DEFINING AND DETERRING CYBER WAR
- W-2 Form Update
And these are just a few. The point is, the bad guys are getting more and more sophisticated all the time. By clicking on a seemingly benign link in these seemingly legitimate messages, non-vigilant victims have opened holes right into their own private systems and worse, their company’s network!
It seems scary, and it is. But defending ourselves against these people is not rocket science. We just need to be vigilant as we perform our daily tasks. It simply boils down to the fact that we must THINK every time we see an incoming message that has a link. IT MUST MAKE A LOT OF SENSE. And before we even look for the link, let’s ask ourselves “do I even need to read this message?”
Do not fear the delete button! It is your friend!
Finally, the good guys can win this by becoming aware. Do some reading here and there. Talk to your friends and co-workers when you see a scam. And when we send a message with a link, let’s be sure to make it obvious who the message is from and where the link is going.
Zeus might not be a myth anymore, but we can still defend ourselves against him!
Click here for more information about User Awareness Training.
Intended Use:
The purpose of Vigilize is to respond to ISO’s complaints that users never read ISO’s “ongoing security awareness training reminders.” Our tweets are designed to be copied into the subject line of your awareness reminder, with the language on these pages put into the body. The goal is that the user will have to read the subject line to know to delete the message, and if they understand the subject line the reminder is communicated. If not, they will go into the message and read the reminder.
Feel free to use Vigilize in your own Security Awareness Program. Let us know if you have any ideas, suggested tweets, or ways to improve this FREE service.