Cyberattacks are on the rise. On a daily basis, malicious actors use emails or text messages to try and trick individuals into providing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and bank account numbers or to launch malware on the user’s system by sending messages from a seemingly reputable source, known as “phishing.” For example, a threat actor may create www.companyy.com to trick someone into believing a communication is from www.company.com.

Unfortunately, these attacks are no longer a question of if, but when, and so individuals and organizations must take all prudent steps to mitigate the results of an attempt. Individuals and organizations may protect themselves by increasing awareness of these attacks through training, implementation of protective procedures and policies and deployment of robust contractual protections.