Responding to Phishing Incidents: Incident Handling Best Practices
In the digital age, effective incident handling is crucial for mitigating the damage caused by phishing attacks. We’ve gathered nine best practices from CEOs, founders, and managing directors, starting with conducting targeted awareness training and culminating in the immediate isolation of affected systems. These insights offer a comprehensive guide for organizations to enhance their phishing incident response strategies.
- Conduct Targeted Awareness Training
- Perform Post-Incident Reviews
- Initiate Proactive Employee Communication
- Establish Swift Reporting Mechanisms
- Improve Email Filtering Protocols
- Maintain Transparency with Stakeholders
- Develop a Phishing Response Plan
- Designate a Clear Chain of Command
- Isolate Affected Systems Immediately
Conduct Targeted Awareness Training
As part of the process, it’s incredibly important to understand how the person was tricked, why they were tricked, and what you can do to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Was the incident something that would only trick that person, or could it be used successfully against multiple staff members?
Now that you’ve assessed your knowledge gaps, you can fill them with good, targeted awareness training—for example, a live, practical workshop that helps people understand URLs (links) in detail.
Mike Ouwerkerk
Fun, Engaging Cyber Security Awareness Trainer & Cultural Transformation Consultant, Web Safe Staff
Perform Post-Incident Reviews
Sadly, phishing attacks are commonplace, but with the right approach, it’s possible to learn from these incidents to prevent a similar attack from reoccurring. Once you’ve dealt with the immediate aftermath of the incident and the dust has settled, I recommend conducting a post-incident review. Analyze the effectiveness of your response and identify areas for improvement.
Use this information to update and improve your organization’s incident response plan. This will help you prepare better for future incidents and mitigate the impact of phishing on your operations and security posture.
Craig Bird
Managing Director, CloudTech24
Initiate Proactive Employee Communication
At Securiti.ai, we’ve learned that proactive communication is key when it comes to handling phishing incidents effectively. One memorable incident involved a phishing email that targeted several employees. Instead of panicking, we immediately initiated a coordinated response. We swiftly notified all employees about the potential threat, providing clear instructions on what to do if they encountered similar emails.
Additionally, we conducted an engaging and interactive training session to educate everyone on how to identify and report phishing attempts in the future. This proactive approach not only mitigated the immediate risk but also empowered our team to be more vigilant against such threats in the future.
Adil Advani
Digital PR & SEO Specialist, Securiti
Establish Swift Reporting Mechanisms
A swift reporting process is a crucial best practice for handling phishing incidents. Employees should have a straightforward way to report suspected phishing attempts immediately to the IT security team. This allows for quick investigation and mitigation, minimizing potential damage. Educating employees on recognizing phishing and the importance of prompt reporting is essential. A fast response can significantly reduce the impact of phishing incidents, safeguarding organizational data and systems.
Khurram Mir
Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Kualitee
Improve Email Filtering Protocols
One of our new employees started receiving phishing emails and reached out to the IT department about it because it was a large volume of emails. This led us to make changes to how emails were filtered in our inboxes.
There was also a company-wide message sent about the increase in phishing emails, ways to determine whether an email was suspicious, and advising employees to reach out to IT if there was still a large number of these emails coming through in their inbox. Taking this step reduced the number of phishing emails.
Benjamin Farber
President, Bristol Associates, Inc.
Maintain Transparency with Stakeholders
Transparency. Phishing incidents are no joke, compromising important stakeholder data, which significantly affects a company’s reputation and credibility. It’s no wonder some companies might be afraid to disclose such breaches and would try to withhold reporting such matters until they’ve been mediated internally.
However, delaying the communication of such an incident may damage a company’s reputation even more, especially if it leaks before the company has the chance to announce it themselves, as it shows a lack of transparency. It’s still best to announce the situation as soon as possible, opting for a proactive approach to how the company is working to resolve the situation even in its early stages.
Internally, this is where proactive crisis communication protocols come in, allowing companies to have SOPs in place for such occurrences, providing a sense of stability and preparedness even in a critical situation.
Jamie Frew
CEO, Carepatron
Develop a Phishing Response Plan
I’m committed to tackling phishing incidents head-on by establishing a Phishing Incident Response Plan (PIRP). This plan is our blueprint for a quick and effective response to minimize the fallout from phishing attempts. Here’s how it works in practice:
When a phishing attempt is reported, our security team quickly verifies the threat and assesses its potential impact, such as compromised credentials or malware infections. In the event of a successful attack, we isolate affected systems immediately and ensure compromised credentials are changed, bolstering security with multi-factor authentication.
Recovery follows containment. We restore affected systems, ensuring they are clean of any attack residue, and keep a close watch for any signs of lingering or new threats. This vigilant monitoring helps us catch and address any anomalies early.
Post-incident, I led a thorough review to dissect the attack and our response to it. This critical analysis helps us pinpoint areas for improvement, which we then fold into our PIRP, continuously enhancing our defenses against future phishing attempts.
Erman Kuplu
CEO, Analyzify
Designate a Clear Chain of Command
One incident-handling best practice organizations can follow when responding to phishing incidents is to establish a clear chain of command. This involves designating a point person or team responsible for overseeing the incident response process and ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are informed and involved. This can include IT and security teams, legal counsel, HR representatives, and other key individuals within the organization.
Having a clear chain of command helps to streamline the incident response process, ensuring that all necessary steps are taken in a timely and coordinated manner. It also helps to ensure that all relevant information and updates are communicated effectively, both internally and externally.
Matthew Ramirez
Founder, Rephrase
Isolate Affected Systems Immediately
One best practice for handling phishing incidents that organizations should follow is the immediate isolation of affected systems and accounts. When a phishing incident is detected, the priority is to prevent the spread of the attack and minimize its impact. This involves quickly identifying and isolating the compromised system or account from the network. For instance, if an employee clicks on a phishing link and enters their credentials, the organization should immediately disable the affected account and disconnect the compromised device from the network.
This immediate action helps to contain the threat and prevents unauthorized access to other parts of the network or sensitive information. Following isolation, a thorough investigation should be conducted to understand the extent of the compromise, identify any data breaches, and determine the source of the phishing attack. This process should be supported by a communication strategy that informs affected stakeholders and guides them on the next steps, such as changing passwords or watching for suspicious account activity.
Isolating affected systems and accounts promptly is crucial for limiting damage and restoring operations quickly. This practice, coupled with ongoing employee education on recognizing phishing attempts, forms a comprehensive defense strategy against phishing incidents.
Bruno Gavino
Founder, CEO, CodeDesign
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