From the course: The Cybersecurity Threat Landscape

Protect against business email compromise

From the course: The Cybersecurity Threat Landscape

Protect against business email compromise

“

- [Instructor] Because business email compromise, or BEC, has characteristics similar to phishing attacks, some of the ways to protect against it will overlap. In this video, I'll cover these as well as some unique methods to protect against BEC attacks. First, like with phishing, you can protect against BEC by implementing email filtering controls on your email server. This will help prevent email attacks designed to trick users into giving away their credentials. And because BEC attackers will sometimes try to spoof legitimate domains in their emails, consider configuring email protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to reduce this type of spoofing. For instance, DKIM can be used to reject emails where the displayed domain doesn't match the domain of the originating email server. Mike Chapple gives a good overview of these protocols in his CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+ course on LinkedIn Learning. Next, enable multifactor authentication, or MFA, especially on email accounts. This will significantly reduce the chances of an attacker taking control of an email account with just a username and password. Once enabled, never disable MFA. User security awareness training is another important protection against BEC attacks. Train users about these attacks and that they should be suspicious of urgent-sounding or unusual emails that request transferring funds. Show them how to spot look-alike domains used in emails. Teach them to confirm these financial transaction requests out of band, meaning through some method other than email, such as calling the person or meeting with them directly. And any change in payment instruction should be verified, no matter how it is sent or who it comes from. Another way to protect against BEC is to add a warning banner to emails coming from outside your organization. Marking external emails helps warn users that an email spoofed to look like it's from someone within the organization really isn't. Then train users to understand what these warning banners mean and why they're important. If you or someone in your organization is a victim of a BEC scam, you should contact your financial institution immediately and tell them what happened. In some cases, money transfers can be frozen or canceled. Next, if you're in the US, report the crime to your local FBI field office. If you're outside the US, contact your equivalent law enforcement agency. Also, if you're in the US, file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Business email compromise is a growing problem on the cybersecurity threat landscape. Take the steps described in this video to reduce the chances that you or your organization will become a victim of a BEC attack.

Contents