Cybersecurity Month: Defense Against Phishing Attacks

As an  Official Champion of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), the Council will be sharing educational resources on payment security best practices on the PCI Perspectives blog, and through our Twitter (@PCISSC) and LinkedIn pages. The Council will align these resources with the four weekly themes outlined by the National Cyber Security Alliance:

• Week 1: Be Cyber Smart: Best practices to protect data.
• Week 2: Fight the Phish: Resources to help identify phishing attacks.
• Week 3: Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week: Information to support the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
• Week 4: Cybersecurity First: Guidance to make cybersecurity an organizational priority.

Week 2: Be Cyber Smart: Defense Against Phishing Attacks
Hackers use phishing and other social engineering methods to target organizations with legitimate-looking emails and social media messages that trick users into providing confidential data, such as credit card number, social security number, account number or password. According to the Data Breach Incident Report by Verizon, phishing attacks account for more than 80 percent of reported security incidents. In the second post in the Cybersecurity Month series, the Council shares a phishing resource guide with tips to defend against these attacks.