Cyber Security Awareness during Covid-19

As the fear and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 continues to rise, it seems as though cyber threats continue to do so as well. It is more important than ever to ensure that your team is educated and prepared on what to do in the event that they receive an unauthorized email and/or text message – and Fortify is here to help! We have put together a brief reminder on what your team should look for and how we can all work together in order to keep our business and personal  information safe.

Email Cyber Security:

As our society is in a state of change, cyber criminals are attempting to exploit people through email communications more so than ever. It is important to remain vigilant to ensure that the emails you are opening are legitimate and free from harmful links and/or attachments. We have provided some tips below on how to recognize and handle a spam email. Please take this time to  familiarize yourself with these steps:

  • Verify that the email is coming from a trusted source. Within the email, hover over the sender’s email address and verify that the address is legitimate (keep an eye out for spelling mistakes). You  may find that the email may display a different email address than what is originally displayed in the email – this is an indication of a spoofed or false email address.
  • Do not click on any links within an email until you know that they are safe. You can hover over the link to view where the link intends to redirect you. If the site shown is not related to the content of the email, then it is likely that the email content is spam and possibly malicious.
  • Avoid opening any documents attached to the email until you confirm that the email was sent from a safe source. If you are unsure if the email content is legitimate, call the intended sender of the email. Do not click on links or enable macros within an attachment.
  • If you happen to accidentally open an email, attachment and/or click on any links that you are unsure of, report it to your management team and/or Fortify Helpdesk right away.
  • Do not share company information to your personal email accounts. Your organization’s email services have likely been configured with proper security best practices and sharing sensitive company data to a third party email source may be unsecure and prohibited per your company’s policies. Please see your management team if you have concerns regarding email security.
  • If you come across a suspicious email in your mailbox managed by Fortify and you would like help confirming its legitimacy, please contact our Helpdesk Team at 1.866.435.7717, Option 3.

Web Content:

As people are eager to seek out information on COVID-19, there has been an increase in web content offering false information or fake websites in order to gain access to your personal information. While browsing the internet, it is important to remember to:

  • Access news updates from trusted sites/sources
  • Beware of websites offering services and requesting personal information or permission to access your device
  • Never save login credentials (i.e. passwords) for websites.

SMS/Text Notifications:

There has been an increase in ‘spam’ text messages being sent throughout North America. If you
receive a text message from an unknown contact:

  • Do not click on any links in the message
  • Do not provide any personal information to the contact

Phone Scams:

  • When answering phone calls:
    • Do not provide any personal identification details over the phone
    • Do not provide company/computer login credentials; if someone claims to be calling from your IT department and you are unsure of the legitimacy of the call, call your IT department  directly to verify if the request is legitimate.
    • Do not entertain offers of monetary rewards and/or subsidies for those impacted by COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

We hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. If our team can be of any assistance to your
business during this time, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

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