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// PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE //
Understanding social engineering
AND SMALL BUSINESSES
The news may cover larger , more dramatic cyberattacks on big businesses but in 2023 , one in every ten small businesses in the UK was targeted . Most of these attacks were not hugely technical or sophisticated attacks but they can do enough to damage a business . The most common attack vector aimed at SMEs is social engineering . Adam Pilton , Cybersecurity Consultant at CyberSmart , runs through the types of social engineering , how small organisations are specifically vulnerable and the best way to remediate these vulnerabilities .
HEN ONE THINKS of a
W cyberattack , there is a tendency towards largescale , all-consuming events . Things such as the recent Lockbit seizure by law enforcement or globally exploited vulnerabilities such as MoveIT tend to dominate headlines due to their widespread impact . Less glamorous however , but equally as damaging , is the constant minutiae of cybersecurity activity which targets the small businesses which make up 99 % of our economy . In 2023 , one in every ten small businesses was targeted .
Most of these attacks were not hugely technical or sophisticated attacks , exploiting software vulnerabilities or gaining remote access to connected devices . The much more common attack vector aimed at SMEs is the far simpler tactic of social engineering .
Types of social engineering
The cybersecurity breaches survey in 2023 suggested that phishing – the most common method of social engineering – had affected 79 % of businesses and 83 % of charities .
Phishing – the process of sending fraudulent emails for cybercrime – is of particular concern to smaller businesses , which are often more stretched for security resources , including programmes of security awareness training or email filtration systems , which can help to catch or alert employees to phishing activity . The consequences of clicking on a phishing email for businesses can be devastating ,
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THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT DESPITE THEIR POPULARITY , PHISHING EMAILS TEND TO BE EASIER TO NOTICE .
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