Advancement in Technology and Its Impact on Businesses
Advancement in technology has played a pivotal role in improving the quality and timely delivery of products and services to customers (Timm & Perez, 2010). Businesses and companies have utilized current innovations in technology to increase production and optimizing their profit margins. Specifically, internet technology is one of the most pervasive aspects in the current business and social networking environment (Probst, 2010). For example, from online banking to online social networking, internet technology has ensured that life becomes more comfortable (Gupta, Arachchilage & Psannis, 2017). However, the growth of internet technology has increased security threats to networks and systems that support business operations. Although there are different security threats and risks to business development and growth, various forms of phishing seem to affect many business people and organizations.
The Definition of Phishing and Available Solutions
In the article, "Defending against Phishing Attacks: Taxonomy of Methods, Current Issues and Future Directions", the authors have provided the definition of "phishing" as attempts by attackers to steal other people's information through the use of fake websites, emails or both (Gupta et al., 2017). According to the authors of this article, there are efforts being made by both academia and industry to come up with various solutions to minimize or stop phishing threats (Gupta et al., 2017). On this premise, the authors urge organizations to ensure that attention is paid to the awareness on the available preventative measures (Gupta et al., 2017). Apparently, the article discusses the history of phishing attacks, motivation that trigger these attacks, types of attacks, available solutions, and issues and challenges.
Various Solutions to Prevent Phishing Attacks
Notably, there are various solutions that are used to prevent phishing attacks. However, it is clear that there is none that provides a clear-cut measure against this vice (Gupta et al., 2017). Research shows that while new methods are developed to deal with phishing, phishers come up with counter measures that aim at exploiting any vulnerability in a specific defensive technique. In most cases, phishers use fake emails and websites to get personal credentials.
DNS-based Blacklist (DNSBL)
One of the methods used in controlling phishing is the DNS-based Blacklist (DNSBL) (Gupta et al., 2017). However, it becomes difficult to handle large amounts of DNS records, thus making this method unreliable. Further, the use of filtering techniques means that phishers only need to avoid specific words, thus accessing people's emails.
Server and User Authentication Techniques
Another defensive method is the use of server and user authentication techniques in checking if an attacker is a valid sender or not in an email or website requests (Rao & Upadhyaya, 2009). Study shows that most internet users ignore email authentication, thus becoming one of the biggest drawbacks in the use of this method (Gupta et al., 2017). The authentication method is only effective if users follow the required procedures.
Google Safe Browsing
Google Safe Browsing is also another method used to protect internet users from phishing (Gupta et al., 2017). The method involves the use of side apps when checking if URLs are blacklisted from an updated list. Unfortunately, the method may not be helpful since if the user changes something in the blacklisted list, then a malicious site cannot be identified. Therefore, the user is only protected from the sites that match with those on the list (Gupta et al., 2017). Consequently, researchers have developed heuristic techniques in detecting phishing. However, heuristic methods have a high level of time complexity, making them unreliable.
Visual Similarity Based Phishing Detection (VSBPD) and BaitAlarm
The most reliable methods that protect users from phishing are the Visual Similarity Based Phishing Detection (VSBPD) and BaitAlarm, which compare visual and textual characteristics, respectively (Gupta et al., 2017). However, if a phisher happens to use the same computer, then both methods may as well be unreliable.
Conclusion
Based on the above brief analysis, it is clear that businesses are not reliably protected from phishing. However, researchers are still developing new methods of dealing with the current challenges. On their side, businesses, organizations, and the general public should be sensitized on available methods and how to use them in protecting themselves from phishing.
References
Gupta, B., Arachchilage, N. " Psannis, K. (2017). Defending against Phishing Attacks:
Taxonomy of Methods, Current Issues and Future Directions. New South Wales.
Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS).
Probst, C. W. (2010). Insider threats in cyber security. New York: Springer.
Rao, H. R., " Upadhyaya, S. (2009). Information assurance, security and privacy services.
Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Timm, C., " Perez, R. (2010). Seven Deadliest Social Network Attacks. Burlington: Elsevier
Science.
