Read more about Business Email Compromise
What is Business Email Compromise?
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a significant cybersecurity threat that affects organizations worldwide. This type of fraud occurs when someone, either inside or outside of a business, impersonates a legitimate party to change payment details and intercept money. Often tied to accounts receivable or accounts payable fraud, BEC can have devastating consequences for businesses.
How Does Business Email Compromise Work?
At its core, BEC involves unauthorized access or control over an email account. This could happen due to an employee with inappropriate permissions or cybercriminals who take over an email account. Our email accounts are gateways to our digital lives, and once compromised, they can reveal a lot about us, causing problems in various aspects of our lives.
The Scope of the Problem
Recent figures released by the FBI in 2023 highlight the staggering impact of BEC, with losses amounting to $51 billion globally. This figure underscores the severity of the issue, although many BEC incidents go unreported, either because the amounts stolen are relatively small or because businesses choose to keep such breaches confidential.
The cost of BEC is not limited to direct financial losses. It can also result in the loss of intellectual property, drive accounts receivable or payable fraud, and cause various other issues. Understanding how these compromises occur is crucial for prevention.
Common Methods of Business Email Compromise
Typically, BEC starts with phishing. Attackers may spoof email addresses to impersonate someone within the organization, leading to data breaches or financial fraud. Another common method is spear phishing, where attackers target specific individuals in the accounts payable or receivable teams to steal their login credentials, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) tokens, giving them full access to the email account.
Preventing Business Email Compromise
Preventing BEC requires a combination of technical controls and user awareness. Implementing standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC can help reduce and prevent spoofing, spam, and phishing emails. These controls validate the sender’s identity, preventing unauthorized emails from being delivered.
The Role of User Awareness
User vigilance is equally important. Using a password manager can help by ensuring passwords are complex and unique and by automatically inserting passwords only on legitimate websites. If a password manager doesn’t recognize a site, it can signal a potential phishing attempt.
Recognizing a Compromised Email Account
Recognizing a compromised email account involves noticing unusual behavior, such as increased spelling and grammatical errors or out-of-character requests with a sense of urgency. Always verify unusual requests, especially those involving financial transactions.
Maintaining Strong Cybersecurity Practices
Businesses must maintain strong processes and checks to ensure their own cybersecurity. However, it’s also crucial to remain vigilant about the security practices of suppliers, vendors, and customers.
Conclusion
Understanding and preventing BEC involves technical controls, user awareness, and constant vigilance. By implementing these measures, businesses can protect themselves from the potentially devastating impact of business email compromise.