Put a Halt to Phishing
Transcript
Daniel Comeau : Hi, I'm Daniel Comeau, your Departmental Security Officer. Do you know how to protect yourself and the Department from cyber attacks called phishing?
Lorne Sundby : Fishing, my favourite subject! I'm ready!
Daniel : Not that kind of fishing. I'm talking about fraudulent emails, text messages or websites sent by cybercriminals to steal personal and financial information.
Lorne : That sounds dangerous. Does phishing work?
Daniel : It sure does. Phishing is the most successful type of cyber-attack against individuals and organizations. And phishing e-mails are the most common way to access information and networks. The worldwide statistics are staggering. Phishing e-mails pose a real threat to government security… including our department. Since September 2013, ESDC has faced 26 phishing attacks.
Lorne : So how can we protect ourselves and our organization from phishing emails?
Daniel : Well, ESDC has taken a leading role in halting email phishing attacks. It's actually pretty simple as long as you know how to identify them. First, be on the lookout for any non-standard email or an unusual request. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you suspect this may be a phishing attack, follow these four easy steps. Hover your mouse over the link without clicking to reveal the TRUE path. If the text doesn't match the link, the message is suspicious. If you're not sure, do NOT click on the link. Analyze the sender's e-mail domain – it should reference a legitimate organization and be consistent with the message. Look for subtle changes to valid e-mail domains and sneaky subdomain references: Finally, test the sender— phone the person or organization to confirm the request. Be sure to look up the real number, not the one in the e-mail Even if we don't handle the personal information of Canadians every day, the information we use on a daily basis is valuable. All of us have a role to play in learning how to protect it.
Lorne : So be smart about what you click on, or you just might end up being someone's catch of the day.
Daniel : That's some bad hat.
Lorne : Thanks Dan!