In today’s digital age, business email compromise (BEC) is a growing threat that’s wreaking havoc on organizations of all sizes. Imagine opening your inbox to find a “you have been hacked” email – such a message likely sends you quickly into panic mode. Your immediate thought is “My email is compromised!”, and you’re at a loss for how to fix it. Hackers blast these kinds of messages every day. Organizations in the US lost $2.4 billion to BEC scams in 2023. BEC attacks are on the rise, and protecting your email and your business has never been more critical.
Understanding Business Email Compromise
Business email compromise is a type of cybercrime where attackers gain access to a business email account and use it to access your data and information. Once they get your email address hacked, they can conduct unauthorized transfers of funds or steal sensitive information. These attacks often involve phishing malware, social engineering, or hacking to deceive employees into disclosing confidential information or making financial transactions.
A recent report on cybercrime found that 35% of all security incidents are BEC phishing attacks. The FBI highlights that BEC is the costliest cybercrime, resulting in billions of dollars in losses annually. With such high stakes, it’s crucial to equip your employees with the knowledge and tools to recognize and prevent these attacks.
Common Types of Business Email Compromise Attacks
To effectively safeguard your business, it’s essential to understand different forms of BEC attacks:
- CEO Fraud: Attackers pose as the CEO, or another high-ranking executive, and request urgent wire transfers or sensitive information.
- Account Compromise: Hackers gain access to an employee’s email account and use it to request payments or sensitive data from vendors or other employees.
- Attorney Impersonation: Cybercriminals pretend to be a lawyer or legal representative handling confidential matters, pressuring employees to act quickly.
- Data Theft: Attackers target HR or finance departments to obtain personal information for future attacks.
The Anatomy of a BEC Attack
A typical business email compromise attack follows a series of steps designed to deceive and manipulate the victim:
- Reconnaissance: Attackers gather information about the target organization, such as employee names, email addresses, and job roles, often through social media or public websites.
Example: Hackers can impersonate family members, coworkers, or even neighbors. Through social media, they present themselves as real by referencing other family members or friends, your/their hometown, recent family events, employment information, etc. - Spoofing: Using techniques like email spoofing or domain impersonation, attackers create emails that appear to come from a trusted source. Creating emails that look very similar to company email addresses, they can weasel their way into your inbox if you don’t pay close attention.
Example: Hackers will make slight variations on legitimate addresses, like john.mark@yourcompany.com vs. john.marke@yourcompany.com, to fool you into thinking their fake account is real. - Social Engineering: Cybercriminals craft convincing messages that exploit human emotions like fear, urgency, or curiosity to prompt the victim to act. Criminals may pose as a significant member of the company, a trust vendor, or your personal network to add authority and familiarity to their message.
Example: A Microsoft security alert email scam would be where a hacker uses both authority as “Microsoft” and urgency w/ “alert” terms to quickly get victims to share email login credentials. - Execution: The victim complies with the request, resulting in unauthorized transfers of money or sensitive data.
Real-World Examples of BEC Attacks
Business email exploitation has been the point of entry for several cyber hacks and data breaches. These email attacks have hit all industries and all sizes of organization, leaving no one safe. Here are a couple of recent cases of BEC:
- The Tech Giants: In 2019, major tech companies fell victim to a BEC attack that resulted in the loss of $100 million. The attacker set up a fake business and tricked employees into wiring funds to a fraudulent account.
- The University: A university’s HR department was compromised in April of 2024, and attackers stole sensitive personal information about employees. Some of the data that was compromised included social security numbers, bank account details, and even federal tax documents.
Safeguarding Your Employees
Protecting your employees from BEC requires a multi-faceted approach that includes education, technology, and policy:
1. Educate and Train Employees
Your employees are the first line of defense against business email compromise. Conduct regular cybersecurity awareness sessions to help them recognize red flags. Education can support their understanding of tactics like phishing malware and email compromise attacks. Training topics should include:
- How to identify suspicious emails
- The importance of verifying requests for sensitive information or financial transactions
- Steps to take if they suspect their email address has been hacked
Email scammers are hard to block! Crafty criminals can send a simple email to unwitting employees, asking for personal info to “update their Windows account” or company password. That sounds legit, right? Traditional antivirus and email security applications can easily miss these kinds of attacks. Add another level of security to your emails with trained and educated employees.
2. Implement Robust Security Measures
Strengthen your organization’s cybersecurity posture with these measures:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Multi-factor authentication adds another layer of security to your traditional single step account logins. Multiple steps to confirm your login makes it harder for criminals to access accounts. Require MFA for email accounts especially, to add an extra layer of security.
- Email Filtering: Use advanced email filtering solutions to detect and block phishing attempts and malicious emails.
- Encryption: Encrypt sensitive emails to protect the contents from unauthorized access.
3. Establish Strong Policies and Procedures
Develop and enforce policies that reduce the risk of BEC:
- Verification Protocols: Implement procedures for verifying requests for funds or sensitive information, such as confirming requests via phone or in person.
- Access Controls: Limit access to sensitive information and financial accounts to only those employees who need it for their job roles.
- Incident Response Plan: Create a clear incident response plan that outlines what steps to take if an email address is compromised or if a BEC attack is suspected.
Staying Ahead of Business Email Compromise
The threat landscape is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of cybercriminals requires ongoing vigilance. Regularly review and update your security measures and stay informed about the latest trends in BEC and phishing attacks. One of the most recent BEC campaigns from hackers involved PDFs mixed with social engineering. Criminals lure users into their scam with what appears to be legitimate PDF documents. The attacks might not change much, but their tactics are getting trickier!
New reports show that 70% of businesses have been targeted by BEC attacks. This statistic underscores the importance of remaining proactive and adaptive in your cybersecurity efforts. Cybercriminals are coming at us from all angles, using different tactics to breach multiple lines of defense. Email compromise happens to be the hottest trend today for cybercrime. Fraudulent email impersonations like BEC now account for nearly 99% of all reported cyber threats.
Takeaways
Business email compromise is a significant threat that can have devastating consequences for your employees and your organization. By educating your employees about cyber threats, implementing robust security measures, and establishing strong policies, you can protect your business from falling victim to these cyberattacks.
Remember, the key to dodging digital deceit lies in vigilance, awareness, and a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Equip your employees with the knowledge and tools they need to recognize and prevent BEC attacks, and you’ll be well on your way to better safeguarding your organization from this costly cyber threat.
