Phishing Attacks – Rising Concern in Israel
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עברית (Hebrew)
During the recent year, there has been an increase in the volume of phishing attempts in Israel. The Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) said it received more than 2,500 reports of broad phishing “events.” Each event might include tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individual incidents of phishing against Israelis across the country.
Phishing is the attempt to steal sensitive and personal information by imposters on the network. Such attacks are prevalent and very simple to implement by hackers. A phishing attempt could be an email, SMS, or phone call that pressurizes the recipient to reveal details while impersonating a legitimate actor.
INCD will be running a nationwide Cyber Defense Week, between Dec. 12-16, that will include a campaign and various events designed to raise public awareness of this challenge.
According to INCD, cyber-attacks have gotten more sophisticated and harder to identify, but using certain signs and simple tests, it is possible to avoid falling for them. Increasing awareness and acting based on proper guidance are the key to blocking the next attack.”
A nationwide drill will focus on employees from around 20 large organizations who will be targeted with a wide variety of “phishing” hacking techniques by “red teams” working for the INCD to test their readiness.
Those employees who fail the test and click on the problematic link will receive a message that they were caught by the INCD “red teams,” and will be given recommendations for avoiding similar mistakes in the future.
Key recommendations for avoiding phishing attacks include avoiding:
- Out-of-place overly informal messages
- Unofficial websites and email senders
- Senders with spelling errors in their addresses
- Requests for personal information via link or the downloading of an application
- Imposing pressure and immediate deadlines, and promising prizes or incentives.
Watch this interview with Erez Tidhar, Executive Director, Israel National CERT, INCD, during INNOTECH 2021 International Conference and Exhibition on Cyber, HLS and Innovation organized by iHLS:
