

Publish Date
15/02/2023
Categories
Blogs Hot Topic
Let’s Go Phishing With KnowBe4 & Identify Your Weakest Links
Inhouse cybersecurity training might have once been a nice to have – that was then, this is now. Today most business operations are increasingly dependent on technology, and on their employees’ ability to use it safely. While the new age of remote and mobile working has huge advantages, it also has opened up huge gateways for cybercriminals to reap the benefits of poor organizational security postures which are aggravated by employees’ ignorance of the pitfalls.
Yet more than ever businesses need to be cybersecure if they are to comply with data protection regulations, keep their own sensitive data secure, ensure business continuity, and avoid the risk of breach-induced production downtime and the cost of repairing reputational damage and rebuilding customer confidence.
Email and poor passwords continue to be the main vectors of cybersecurity hacks. The increasing prevalence of phishing attempts and identity fraud further complicate the landscape, and all too often staff just aren’t aware of the dangers. And remember 82% of data breaches involve a human element be it exposure to ransomware, phishing, domain identity theft, email spoofing or weak passwords.
But who are your weakest links? You need to know to plug the gaps and to ensure that all your staff are on constant alert to the dangers. Employees who know how to identify, detect, and mitigate threats such as phishing, ransomware and spoofing will be able to prevent attacks on the company and its customers.
Training though can be complex, time consuming and costly – but not any more.
We’ve teamed up with KnowBe4 – the world’s largest integrated platform for security awareness training combined with simulated phishing attacks to offer a MENA exclusive, best-in-class managed service offering available on an annual licence subscription. This means we can manage your entire cybersecurity training program and create your own human firewall.
Through our managed service, we can create a foundational training program, identify your weakest cybersecurity links through tailored phishing campaigns, assess your pain points and security awareness posture, monitor effectiveness and more. License pricing is dependent on which services you opt for and the number of users you want covered.
You’ll get:
All this combined with Cobweb’s superior 24/7 managed service capability is a match made in corporate heaven!
Remember a strong security culture and an educated workforce is your best defence against cyberattacks. You can check out our Knowbe4 offering by requesting a demo here or click here for more details.

Publish Date
07/12/2022
Categories
Blogs Hot Topic
Discover What You Need To Be Ransomware Ready
Mimecast’s newly released ‘State of Ransomware Readiness 2022’ report here makes for bad news, good news reading.
Based on interviews with 1,100 cybersecurity experts across more than 10 countries, including the UAE, the report points to an ever-increasing incidence of ransomware which now makes it one of the primary threats to organizations. Indeed, it has apparently become so widespread and costly, that many insurers are reconsidering pay outs and excluding some forms of ransomware attacks from their coverage – making the need to prevent more pressing.
“On a positive note, although the threat is growing, there are opportunities for businesses to evolve their cybersecurity strategies, and address the challenges of complex enterprise networks, limited resources, stretched teams, and complex threats,” says the report. “This means businesses must focus not only on mitigation, but proactive prevention, to improve their threat detection capabilities and attack responses – and ultimately, lower the personal and business cost of ransomware.”
The downside, the report found that 77% of cybersecurity professionals are facing mounting pressure from ransomware attacks compared to 2021. Two-fifths of respondents say they had experienced significant downtime due to a cyberattack and 44% of businesses in the UAE reported revenue loss due to a ransomware attack over the past year.
A third of respondents said their cybersecurity teams were suffering from increased staff absences due to post-attack burnout with 46% of decision-makers in the UAE thinking of leaving their role in the next two years due to stress. The answer, they believe, is bigger cybersecurity budgets which they say need to rise by around 28%.
The professionals said they believe ransomware attacks are now virtually inevitable, with 49% citing file backup and recovery as the most critical technology for reducing the risk and damage of ransomware attacks.
The report concludes that in the face of the growing ransomware threat, security must go beyond checking compliance and mitigation boxes.
“Proactive prevention will reduce the likelihood of attacks and lower their impact when they do succeed,” it says. “Given the complexity of most enterprise networks, organizations will often benefit from an integrated approach – adopting a cybersecurity mesh architecture that adapts security protections to each asset in the network. This increases visibility, minimizes dwell time, and helps busy teams identify and address attacks more readily.”
The report recommends cybersecurity leaders focus on proactively reducing the chances of a ransomware attack causing disruption by:
If you want to ensure you are ransomware ready, ask Cobweb for a security posture consultation. We’ll identify any gaps and help you plug them. Call us now and stay safe! +97144553100 or email: sales.uae@cobweb.com.

Publish Date
27/09/2022
Categories
Blogs Hot Topic
Your brand is a key business asset. It’s your trust bank which says who you are and what you offer but increasingly brands are at risk from cybercriminals who are impersonating them to entrap unsuspecting victims.
In the UAE, Sharjah Police has now launched an awareness campaign about the dangers of cyber brand impersonation (spoofing) after witnessing a sharp increase in the number of people falling foul of fraudulent schemes involving fake emails and WhatsApp messages.
At the launch of its ‘Be Aware: Stop, Think, Protect’ campaign, Sharjah Police revealed a 70% rise in cybercrime reports in the emirate in the past two years and it’s looking to help people identify when they’re being targeted by cyber criminals.
The most common forms of cybercrime are phishing and online brand impersonation attacks that trick people, including customers and employees, into opening attachments from unofficial sources, clicking on unknown links, and sharing sensitive personal information, including passwords and banking logins.
Cloud cybersecurity services provider Mimecast says cybercriminals are increasingly hijacking trusted brands and launching cyberattacks from lookalike web and email domains to increase their chances of successfully duping victims and that many companies remain vulnerable due to a lack of technology and robust security policies.
In its 2021 survey Mimecast discovered that consumers in the Middle East are more risk averse than others. In Saudi Arabia 75% of consumers and 78% in the UAE said they would stop spending with even their favourite brands if they fell victim to a phishing attack involving them. Compare that to a global average of 57% and you can understand the level or risk adversity in the region. Furthermore, over 80% of consumers in the Middle East also believe brands have a responsibility to protect them and themselves from email and website impersonation.
Mimecast’s latest State of Email Security 2022 report found that while things are getting better, they are still not great. It revealed that only 42% of organizations in Saudi Arabia and 38% in the UAE, are somewhat prepared – or not prepared at all – to deal with attacks that spoof their email domains.
Deploying online brand protection tools can help companies identify and take down malicious websites which impersonate their web and email domains before customers fall victim and these, according to Mimecast, should be supported by a sturdy regime of regular cyber awareness training so that all employees can detect and avert the risks.
Employees who receive suspicious email communications on their work email address should immediately report it to their security teams who can contain the threat, protect the organization, and keep threats from spreading to customers and partners.
Mimecast says some tell-tale signs that you’re being targeted by a scammer, include:
If staff receive any of the above, they should:
If the worst does happen and an employee does fall for the scam and share personal information, they should:
Authorities in the region are increasing penalties for cybercrime. In the UAE, Article (11) of the Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 stipulates that any person who creates a fake website, online account or e-mail impersonating a natural or legal person, will face imprisonment and/or a fine of not less than Dh50,000 and not more than Dh200,000, or one of the two penalties. Offenders can be jailed for a minimum of two years, if they use or allow anyone to use the fake website, online account, or e-mail to cause harm to an impersonated victim. In Saudi Arabia, the Public Prosecution has reaffirmed that a jail term of three years and fines of up to SR2 million can be imposed on those who create or send fake links, texts or electronic messages that impersonate government agencies, bodies, or financial or service institutions to fraudulently obtain money or financial data.
Mimecast reports signs that businesses are taking the online phishing and brand spoofing threats more seriously by turning to resources to detect instances of brand mimicry and counterfeit websites. In its 2022 survey, Mimecast found that more than three-fourths of respondents (76%, up from 72% the previous year) were using monitoring services.
Mimecast says companies are making use of Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) to protect their brands. This email authentication protocol helps safeguard companies against domain spoofing by determining whether an email originated from within the domain with which it is associated. The Mimecast 2022 survey revealed 89% of respondents are already using DMARC or are in the process of implementing or considering implementing it within the next year.
If you would like to know more about DMARC and how you can safeguard your brand online, get in touch with our experts now on +97144553100 or email: sales.uae@cobweb.com.

This is the managed, collaborative package for any company big or small, from start-ups to midgrade SMBs with around 25 staff who value and prioritize collaboration, particularly the remote collaboration which is hallmarking next normal business operations.
If you have staff working from home, or to a hybrid or fully remote schedule, or you have off-site offices and locations or want to collaborate and liaise online with clients/suppliers, this is the secure solution that lets you operate safely and collaborate effectively all over the world with all the necessary tools and settings in place.
Review our bundled offerings, and earmark what you think suits you.