Blog
5 Ways Your Cybersecurity Team Can Help Avoid Fraud and Abuse
As the world moves increasingly online, so too do the opportunities for fraudsters and malicious actors. It’s becoming more and more common for people to attempt to gain access to sensitive company information by posing as employees, vendors, or other trusted individuals. The extent to which some of them will go is impressive.
Here are some steps you can take to ensure that the people claiming to work for your company are actually who they say they are.
1. Implement and Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication
One of the best ways to protect your company from imposters is to implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for all sensitive company accounts. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to present at least two forms of identification before they’re able to access an account. This could be something like a password plus a one-time code that’s generated by an authenticator app, or a fingerprint plus a PIN code. By requiring multiple forms of identification, you make it significantly harder for threat actors to gain access to sensitive company information.
2. Monitor Your Affiliated Attack Surface for Suspicious Activity
Looking out for suspicious activity is an important step you can take to protect your company from imposters. You already monitor within the firewall, and you may also scan for threats outside the firewall. But you should also consider third-party platforms that could be considered an affiliated attack surface. For example, GlassDoor and LinkedIn. Regular keyword searches, claiming all available properties by list aggregators, and monitoring existing company online properties can help you take swift action if suspicious activity begins to occur.
3. Conduct First-Party and Third-Party Background Checks
You can also defend against fraud and abuse by conducting background checks or due diligence on key people and vendors. Performing these checks periodically can help you keep a pulse on initial red flags or identify changes before risk affects your business. It’s important to remember that not all background checks are robust or reliable, so you should make sure you’re using a reputable service (or check out Nisos’ Zero Touch Diligence® Service) so that you can be confident in the results.
4. Establish and Actively Document Evolving Policies and Procedures
Another way you can avoid fraud is by implementing strong policies and procedures. A good place to start is by conducting regular audits and risk assessments to get a baseline for the type of threats your organization may be facing. Perhaps you may be a target of an insider working with someone externally to abuse your company. From these assessments, you can build on your cyber threat intelligence and create an actionable plan to protect your business.
Abuse of power through poor security controls can also contribute to fraud and abuse. Training employees about these policies/procedures and implementing clear guidelines about penalties for violating them will help you ensure you have clarity on what is acceptable and unacceptable use of your business’ tools and products.
5. Stay Up-to-Date on Cybersecurity Threats
In cybersecurity there is no shortage of “information” being spread by individual companies, news organizations, and security influencers. Know who to listen to, what organizations are trustworthy, and how to get timely information that can help you proactively defend your business are key.
When you monitor the latest and most relevant threats and the associated TPPs you gain awareness of specific activities threat actors employ against people in your organization or in the industry in general.
As you already know, technology is evolving every day, and threat actors are always seeking low-hanging fruit. Staying involved in cyber communities, working with trained experts who can help filter out the noise, and being willing to invest the time and money to develop resilience is the best way to remain a defensive organization that combats and defeats bad actors looking to manipulate your company through fraud and abuse.
About Nisos®
Nisos is The Managed Intelligence Company®. Our services enable security, intelligence, and trust and safety teams to leverage a world-class intelligence capability tailored to their needs. We fuse robust data collection with a deep understanding of the adversarial mindset delivering smarter defense and more effective response against advanced cyber attacks, disinformation, and abuse of digital platforms.