Tag: cmobytes

Will LinkedIn Phishing Threats Defeat The Popular Business Social Media Platform?

Posted on by Elevate Services Group

 

The career-centered social media network LinkedIn is the latest victim of phishing efforts on the part of cybercriminals—demonstrating that no organization, no matter how big, is immune to such threats. The phishing attacks are tailored to what LinkedIn users are most likely to be interested in and seek to obtain valuable information from victims. What makes these attacks most concerning from a business perspective is that many LinkedIn users are logging in with their corporate email accounts. When the cybercriminals succeed in getting the information they want, they can gain access to the information of not just the immediate victim, but the organization they work for as well.

 

 

Cybercriminals Targeting LinkedIn Users

 

According to the Security Awareness Training company KnowBe4, a new wave of cybercrime is hitting the LinkedIn community to gain valuable corporate information. Cybercriminals are attempting to get employees to fall for phishing emails—emails that encourage recipients to click a link that leads to a request for confidential information.

 

The phishing emails are designed to appeal to the personal interests of the recipients, a common tactic with phishing attacks. The goal is to excite the recipient enough that they forget to be cautious. According to KnowBe4, the most popular type of phishing email is one that has LinkedIn in the subject line. Messages from LinkedIn are opened around 50% of the time, so it makes sense for the cybercriminals to use what is most likely to work. They know that around one in two users will open an email that appears to be from LinkedIn, so they tailor their phishing emails accordingly.

 

Particular Concern for Those with Business Responsibilities

 

When a phishing attack succeeds against an average person, their personal information and financial information is at risk. But when a phishing attack succeeds against someone who has responsibilities at a business, and therefore security access to protected information of the business, it can lead to damage that harms the business and all of its employees. No one deserves to be the victim of a phishing attack, but there are individuals who, if compromised, can deliver information that will harm more than just one person.

 

It is predictable that the ones that cybercriminals want most to fall for their LinkedIn phishing attacks are those with higher security clearance in businesses. They know that they could strike a gold mine if they get the right person, with the right information, to fall for one of their phishing emails. That is why they are so devious in the way that they construct their traps. They look closely at the areas of interest of their targets to ensure that they have the highest chance of success.

 

Areas Where Cybercriminals Focus on LinkedIn

 

Not just any phishing email will lead to a click from the reader. To get the desired result, cybercriminals must create the kind of emails that recipients are most likely to fall for. KnowBe4 actually conducted tests on LinkedIn to determine which types of emails recipients would click the most often. As mentioned earlier, the most successful phishing emails included LinkedIn in the subject line of the email. According to an article from ChannelFutures, once the recipient looked at the email, they were most likely to click on emails that had the following in the subject line:

 

  • Profile Views
  • New InMail Message
  • Join my network
  • Add me to your network

 

It makes sense that these subjects would attract the most clicks. They all indicate an interest in the recipient, specifically the kind of interest that could lead to an excellent networking opportunity. A desired employer or contact might have looked at their profile or sent them a message. Even better, they might have requested that the recipient become part of their network, or that the recipient allow them to become part of their network. All four subjects target those who are using LinkedIn to further their careers, which explains why they were so successful.

 

What Can LinkedIn and Users do to Fight the Problem?

 

For LinkedIn, the risk of phishing scams and cybercrime is and has always been present. As the company has grown, they have been well aware of the dangers that cybercrime poses to their business and their users. That is why, as with all other major social media platforms, LinkedIn has a dedicated team to identify cybercrime on their platform and to do what they can to fight it. However, there is a limit to what LinkedIn’s dedicated security team can accomplish on their own. Once a platform has millions of users, there will always be criminals who can slip through the cracks. LinkedIn will not be defeated by cybercriminals as a platform. However, the platform’s users do need to be aware of the risks they face.

 

For businesses, it is best to avoid relying on LinkedIn to keep them and their employees totally secure. Companies have to accept that from time to time, their employees will be targeted by cybercriminals. That is why employee awareness training is so necessary. Businesses must train employees to be aware of the risks of cybercrime, including phishing emails. If you are worried about your employees falling for a phishing scam, consider training them in the red flags of social engineering.

 

To learn more about cybercrime risks and how to avoid them, please contact our IT services team. We can help you protect your employees and your business.

Should CMOs and CIOs Partner On Strategic Information Technology?

Posted on by Elevate Services Group

 

 

For as long as the roles of CMO and CIO have existed, their work has rarely overlapped. CMOs focused on the company’s marketing efforts while CIOs stuck to the technology side of the business. But in today’s digital world, the hard lines that once separated marketing and tech have dissolved. Now, any business that wants to remain competitive must engage in digital transformation—which requires strategic use of information technology incorporating both marketing and IT. That transformation can only be effective if CMOs and CIOs work together.

 

The Importance of Digital Transformation

 

According to the Altimeter Group, digital transformation is “The realignment of, or new investment in, technology and business models to more effectively engage digital customers at every touchpoint in the customer experience lifecycle.” The goal of digital transformation should be to better provide value for the client or customer and to improve competitiveness. To achieve these ends, a strategic approach to information technology must be utilized. And for that to happen, CMOs and CIOs must communicate and strive together in seeking the same goal.

 

The vast majority of businesses were not founded with digital technologies in mind, and even less were created from day one to take advantage of the digital platforms that have emerged in the past decade, much less those that continue to spring up on a seemingly daily basis.

 

Chances are, as a CMO you have probably already been thinking long and hard about how your marketing efforts can incorporate the vast array of digital technologies available. Just some of the areas where digital transformation could deliver notable improvements include:

 

  • Mobile computing
  • Social media
  • Big data
  • Cloud features
  • Data privacy compliance
  • BYOD
  • Data security
  • And more…

 

Of course, to achieve the kind of transformation that you want and need, certain obstacles must be overcome. You have to determine where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there—all of which is best facilitated through the partnership of the CMO and CIO.

 

Partnership Between Marketing and IT Facilitates Competency

 

The terrain of digital platforms is difficult to navigate for even the most experienced professionals. To conquer this terrain and make it work for your business, it only makes sense to utilize all the resources at your disposal. Between building, running and managing the digital tools necessary to reach and retain customers, and ensuring that marketing efforts are as well integrated with new technologies as possible, there is simply too much required for one department—marketing or IT—to do alone.

 

Both CMOs and CIOs face unique challenges from the digital technology field. Some of these include:

 

Challenges for CMOs

 

For CMOs, the number of existing and upcoming digital technologies can be overwhelming. There are so many areas that must be considered to achieve competitiveness, including:

 

  • Buying appropriate technology solutions
  • Managing the technology stack
  • Creating infrastructure for technologies
  • Integrating new technologies with existing enterprise solutions

 

You could be the most effective CMO in the world when it comes to marketing, yet feel completely in the dark when it comes to how to manage the nuts and bolts of new technologies. That is why different departments exist in organizations—because true competency and skill take years to develop, and no one is capable of being an expert in everything.

 

Challenges for CIOs

 

The technology your business needs to operate and serve your customer base is the focus of the CIO. However, the marketing end of the equation is rarely an area where the CIO will have much expertise. Some of the things that the CIO may struggle with include:

 

  • Continued awareness of company efforts to reach and retain customers
  • Understanding the value proposition presented by the company to the client or customer
  • Needed adaptations in marketing messages as new information comes in
  • Which technologies are most effective for marketing based on company needs

 

CIOs have their own challenges to contend with as they strive to keep the ship running and determine what the best technology solutions are among an increasingly vast array of options. If they are not brought into the marketing conversation, there is a real risk that the left hand can become detached from the right—possibly even to the point where the CMO and CIO are working at cross purposes.

 

The benefits of CMOs and CIOs partnering quickly becomes apparent as your company embraces technology. Marketing has never had so much reach as it has today with digital platforms and real-time data. But utilizing that technology requires expertise that is found in the CIO and the IT team.

 

CMO and CIO—In it Together for the Long Haul

 

CMOs and CIOs share the same ultimate goal—the success of the organization for which they work. Success in today’s digital environment means utilizing appropriate technologies to keep the business strong, competitive and attractive to the customer. To obtain success requires a partnership between the CMO and CIO to identify areas for improvement, move forward with effective action that will achieve improvements, and to continue to adapt to the rapid changes that are inherent in today’s business world.