Is Vishing a Threat to Your Business? Protect Your Business

Yes, vishing is indeed a threat to your business. Vishing, a combination of 'voice' and 'phishing,' is a significant cybersecurity threat, manipulates phone communication to trick individuals into revealing sensitive business information. With Americans losing approximately Vishing, or voice phishing, poses significant cybersecurity risks to businesses, leading to financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.

In 2022, vishing scams resulted in over $1.2 billion in losses for consumers and businesses, with median losses per victim reported at $1,400.

In the second quarter of 2023, the volume of vishing attacks worldwide increased by 10% compared to the previous quarter, indicating a growing operational threat to organizations.

In October 2023, during the British Labour Party's conference, an audio deepfake of leader Keir Starmer was released, falsely portraying him in a negative light, which led to significant reputational harm for the party.

These examples underscore the critical need for businesses to implement robust security measures against vishing attacks. The sophisticated nature of these voice call phishing attacks, often involving deepfake technology or social engineering, highlights the urgent need for businesses to improve their defenses.

What is Vishing in Business?

Vishing in business targets individuals through phone calls, aiming to extract confidential information under the guise of legitimacy. Scammers, pretending to be bank officials or IT support, use voice manipulation and social engineering to exploit employees' trust, leading to potential financial loss or unauthorized access to company data.

Real Life Examples Against Business

This section highlights real-life examples of vishing attacks on businesses, providing important insights into how cybercriminals have impacted companies. Through these case studies, you will understand the impact of vishing attacks in the real world and learn the importance of staying informed and proactive in cybersecurity to protect your business.

• Bank Impersonation Vishing Scam in New Zealand: In 2023, a vishing scam impersonating Westpac tricked a family in New Zealand into transferring $32,000 through a coordinated attack involving calls and texts.
• Elderly Man Falls Victim to Fake PayPal Scam in Hingham: In 2023, vishing scammers claiming to be from PayPal misled an elderly man from Hingham, leading to a loss of nearly $100,000. This incident highlights the risky combination of voice phishing and remote access tactics.
• International Crackdown on Vishing Scam: In 2023, a joint operation by Czech and Ukrainian police, with support from Europol and Eurojust, exposed a vishing scheme that caused losses in the tens of millions of euros. This operation underscored the critical role of international collaboration in fighting such cybercrimes.
• 2023 MGM Resorts Cybersecurity Incident: MGM Resorts International fell victim to a significant cybersecurity breach carried out by a group known as Scattered Spider. This attack led to widespread system shutdowns and data breaches, with the financial impact, including losses and ransom payments, reaching $115 million.

Please check our other blog and see more incidents on real-life vishing examples.

How to Protect Your Business Against Vishing

To protect your business against vishing, businesses should adopt a multi-layered defense strategy. This includes:

• Security Awareness Training: It's important to educate employees about vishing attacks, emphasizing the need to protect sensitive information. Training should cover how to recognize vishing attempts, the types of information at risk, and the potential impacts of a breach.
• Use Vishing Simulation: Vishing simulation tools like Keepnet Labs’ Vishing Simulator in your cybersecurity training can greatly improve your employees’ readiness to vishing attacks. These tools simulate real-life vishing attacks, providing employees with practical experience in identifying and responding to phishing attempts via phone calls.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Implementing 2FA adds an extra layer of security, making it significantly more challenging for attackers to gain unauthorized access through stolen credentials.
• Harden Telephone Systems: Enhance your telephone system's security with caller ID verification, call blocking, and authentication features to deter attackers from spoofing phone numbers and impersonating legitimate contacts.
• Multi-layered Security Measures: Protect sensitive data with encryption, secure storage solutions, and stringent access controls. This comprehensive approach makes it difficult for attackers to utilize any information gained from vishing.
• Monitoring for Suspicious Activity: Keep a vigilant eye on telephone networks for any unusual activity that could indicate a vishing attempt, enabling early detection and response.
• Educating on Caller Verification: Train users to verify the identity of callers before divulging any sensitive information. This step is vital as attackers often pose as credible sources to extract data.
• Voice Biometrics: Utilize voice biometric technology to authenticate legitimate callers accurately, reducing the risk of impersonation and unauthorized access.
• Secure VoIP Infrastructure: Ensure your VoIP systems are securely configured and shielded from unauthorized access and threats. Employing firewalls, encryption, and other protective measures is essential for defending against potential vulnerabilities.
• Trusted Call-back Procedures: Implementing a verification process for callers can significantly enhance security. This approach involves verifying a caller's identity through a separate authentication process before any sensitive information is shared.
• Strong Passwords and Authentication Practices: Adopting robust passwords combined with strong authentication methods helps ensure that only authorized individuals can access your systems. This might include using two-factor or multi-factor authentication for an added security layer.

Watch the YouTube video below to see how a real-life vishing attack works.

What Should I Do if My Company Is the Victim of Vishing?

If your company becomes a victim of a vishing attack, acting as fast as possible and strategically is key to mitigating the impact:

• Immediately report the incident to law enforcement and cybersecurity authorities to help track the perpetrators and alert them to the scam's tactics.
• Assess and document the damage to understand the scope of the breach and identify compromised data and systems.
• Secure your systems by changing any compromised credentials, including passwords and usernames, to prevent further unauthorized access.
• Inform stakeholders about the breach, including what happened, the potential impact, and what is being done in response.
• Review and update security protocols based on the attack analysis to strengthen defenses and prevent vishing attacks. This includes implementing regular data backups and enhancing employee training on cybersecurity awareness.
• Monitor for further suspicious activity to catch any additional attempts early and to protect against the potential for multi-pronged attacks.

The Benefits of Keepnet Labs Vishing Defense Solutions

The Keepnet Labs' Vishing Simulator tool brings a host of advantages to organizations looking to fortify their defenses against vishing attacks. Vishing simulation also educates your employees on how to identify, respond to, and prevent voice scams.

One of the standout features of this tool is its ability to create realistic voice phishing scenarios. These scenarios closely mirror actual vishing attacks, which helps employees learn how to recognize and deal with these threats effectively. Furthermore, the tool offers multilingual support, providing training in over 160 languages. This feature makes it a valuable asset to organizations with a diverse, global workforce.

Another significant benefit is its use of artificial intelligence to craft realistic vishing scenarios, enhancing the learning experience for employees. Additionally, the tool helps organizations in complying with legal and regulatory requirements by offering comprehensive security training.

Moreover, implementing this tool can lead to a cultural shift within the organization, promoting a culture of security awareness. It emphasizes the importance of being vigilant against social engineering attacks, such as vishing.

Watch the Youtube video and understand what is vishing, a high-tech phone scam.

Watch Keepnet Labs’ webinar on YouTube to learn more about vishing attacks and vishing simulation benefits to businesses.

Editor's Note: This blog was updated on November 21, 2024.