The most terrifying ghoul of the 21st century isn’t a goblin, a ghost or even a blood-sucking vampire. No, the scariest monster is a little less fantastical and a lot more commonplace, to your great misfortune – the business email compromise phishing scheme.
Earlier in 2016, the FBI released some worrying statistics concerning BEC fraud. By the agency’s estimate, from October 2013 through February 2016, $2.3 billion was lost to BEC as the result of more than 17,000 reports of fraud. In total, more than $3 billion has been lost from these attacks around the world to date. Victims were spread out over at least 79 countries, making it one of the deadliest kinds of cyberattack for every kind of business in nearly any country, from small organizations to large enterprises. For instance, the average loss in Arizona ranged between $25,000 and $75,000 per incident.
“The average loss in Arizona ranged between $25,000 and $75,000 per incident.”
How Does This Happen?
One thing is for certain: BEC scams are effective. According to SecurityWeek, cybercriminals can use social engineering techniques or hack into a company’s network – but the result is the same. By gaining access to the email of and subsequently impersonating a high-level executive, hackers can direct the financial departments of affected organizations to deposit money into offshore accounts.
The dangers behind a scheme like this are obvious. IBM and the Ponemon Institute found earlier this year that the cost of a data breach continues to inch upward, topping out at around $4 million per incident, whereas last year that number sat at $3.8 million. A BEC scheme is only one of the ways that cybercriminals can gain access to your network – and it can have dire consequences on your bottom line.
Say ‘BOO’ to BEC
Phishing schemes continue to grow more sophisticated, and it’s critical that IT admins have a plan in place for when the unthinkable happens. With a system reboot to restore tool like Faronics Deep Freeze, system admins don’t have to worry about malware or hackers infiltrating their networks. With the touch of a single button, the entire computing environment can be wiped clean – restoring the previously saved configurations back to their ‘frozen’ state. This effectively gets rid of any unwanted prowlers in the system.
Don’t let BEC schemes scare you. For more information about how Faronics Deep Freeze can help you maintain your computing environment, get in touch with us today.
