Cybersecurity | IT Protection | Attack Vectors
How much do you trust your online rendezvous? It is common knowledge that you should not reveal too much information with Internet acquaintances. However, when it comes to their own career or love, even level-headed people forget all the basic rules of cybersecurity. Criminals exploit vanity and loneliness to get hold of company data.
If anyone knows anything about IT security, it’s the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) – after all, it’s Germany’s top federal authority in the field of cybersecurity. It is considered a valuable knowledge carrier, advises and supports companies. It also issues alerts when new waves of attacks are launched by cybercriminals. At the beginning of the year, emails circulated calling on people to carry out security updates. Alleged sender: the BSI. It contains: A link under which the recipient could download the update. However, the download on the fake website contained malware. A nasty trick by cybercriminals. The BSI finally issued a warning message itself with the recommendation to ignore the message.
Our tip: Check the e-mail address carefully even from trustworthy senders. If in doubt, do not open an attachment or click on any links it contains. For more information, visit other channels, such as the organization’s official website or customer service.
You will be contacted via Xing: Great CV and unique profile. The company could use someone like you, the interested HR manager writes to you. Who doesn’t like to hear such compliments? A telephone call will be arranged in which you will get to know each other better. Your counterpart inquires about your current position. The person asks for more and more detailed information about internal processes and resources. The headhunter scam via social networks is a popular trick to obtain information.
Our tip: Be careful with what you reveal to the outside world about your current company. A recruiter will usually inquire about your responsibilities. However, he should understand if you do not disclose any details or internals – such as internal operating procedures, access rights or software used in your company.
Similar to the headhunter’s scam, espionage also works in online dating: A person with an attractive profile photo contacts the victim on social networks. There is flirting, people write to each other all night and build trust. Once the first step has been taken, there are two popular approaches: either the target is questioned directly about their company or they are asked to download a flirting app that acts as a Trojan horse and is infected with a spy program.
Our tip: Become suspicious if you are questioned extensively about your company by anonymous flirts on the Internet. Of course, the profession is an interesting topic of conversation, but you should keep company internals and similar details to yourself. Are you asked to download an app or other programs/files? It is best to refrain from clicking on links from strangers. There are always alternatives, you can fall back on commonly used means of communication – your online rendezvous will certainly understand this.
