6 Cyber Security
Tips That Prevent Breaches

Business email compromise (BEC) attacks cost organizations $2.7 billion annually according to FBI data. The attacks work because they exploit trust in email communication. An attacker compromises a vendor's email account and sends legitimate-looking invoices to your accounting team. Everything appears normal — same email address, same formatting, same language patterns.

The fix is brutally simple: verify unusual requests through a different communication channel. Got an email requesting a wire transfer? Call the sender using a phone number you already have on file — not one from the email. Vendor asking you to update payment information? Verify through your existing contact at that company. This single cyber security awareness tip blocks nearly all BEC attacks.

When Verification Becomes Critical

Specific scenarios demand verification: wire transfer requests regardless of amount, changes to direct deposit or vendor payment information, requests for password resets or credential sharing, unusual access requests from colleagues, any request that creates urgency or pressure, and communications from executives asking subordinates to bypass normal procedures. These attack vectors account for the majority of successful social engineering incidents.

Tip 2: Use Password Managers

Human memory creates predictable password patterns attackers exploit ruthlessly. People use personal information (birthdays, pet names, addresses) that's publicly available. They reuse passwords across multiple sites. They create slight variations on the same base password. Attackers know all these patterns and their tools test them automatically.

Password managers solve this completely. They generate genuinely random passwords impossible for humans to guess or remember. They store credentials securely behind one strong master password. They auto-fill login forms, which also protects against phishing — a password manager won't fill credentials on a fake site because the URL doesn't match.

This cyber security awareness tip often meets resistance. People worry about putting all credentials in one place. But the alternative — weak or reused passwords across dozens of accounts — is far more dangerous. One credential breach elsewhere exposes every account sharing that password. Password managers eliminate that catastrophic risk entirely.

Tip 3: Enable MFA on Everything

Microsoft's data shows MFA blocks 99.9% of automated account attacks. That statistic bears repeating: ninety-nine point nine percent. If every person implemented only this single cybersecurity awareness tip, the vast majority of account compromise attacks would simply fail.

MFA works because it requires something you know (password) plus something you have (phone, hardware token). Even if attackers steal your password through phishing or data breach, they can't access your account without the second factor. The protection is nearly absolute against remote attackers.

Choosing the Right MFA Method

Not all MFA is equal. SMS-based verification works but is vulnerable to SIM-swapping attacks. Authenticator apps like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator provide stronger protection. Hardware security keys (FIDO2/WebAuthn) offer the highest security and are phishing-resistant by design. For most people, authenticator apps balance security and convenience effectively.

Priority accounts for MFA implementation:

• Email accounts — especially primary accounts that receive password resets
• Financial services and banking applications
• Cloud storage containing sensitive files
• Social media accounts with professional importance
• Work systems with access to company data

Tip 4: Report First, Ask Questions Later

Security teams consistently report that underreporting represents their biggest awareness problem. Employees receive suspicious emails, feel uncertain, and do nothing. They might delete the email. They might ignore it. They almost never report it. Meanwhile, other employees with less skepticism click the same phishing link, and the attack succeeds because the security team never knew about it.

The cyber security awareness mindset shift needed: reporting suspicious activity is always correct. Even if it turns out to be legitimate, the report helps security teams calibrate their filters and understand what confuses employees. False positive reports are valuable training data. Zero false positive reports usually means under-reporting, not perfect user judgment.

Organizations should make reporting frictionless. Outlook and Gmail have one-click phishing report buttons. Security teams should respond to reports quickly, even just to acknowledge receipt. Employees who report and hear nothing assume their reports go into a void. Positive feedback loops encourage continued reporting behavior that benefits the entire organization.

Tip 5: Treat Urgency as Red Flag

Attackers manufacture urgency because it works. When people feel rushed, they bypass normal verification processes. Your account will be closed in 24 hours! The CEO needs this wire transfer before his flight! Immediate action required! These pressure tactics exist in nearly every successful social engineering attack because they reliably short-circuit critical thinking.

Legitimate organizations rarely demand immediate action. Banks don't email threats to close accounts within hours. Your IT department doesn't need your password right now. Real emergencies use phone calls, not emails. This cyber security awareness tip provides a simple filter: the more urgent the request feels, the more scrutiny it deserves.

Training employees to pause when they feel pressure is genuinely difficult. The instinct to help quickly, especially when authority figures seem to request it, is deeply ingrained. Role-playing exercises that create artificial urgency help build resistance. Simulated attacks that use urgency as a manipulation tactic — and provide feedback when employees fall for it — create lasting behavioral change.

Tip 6: Verify URLs Before Entering Data

Credential harvesting through fake login pages remains astonishingly effective. Attackers create pixel-perfect replicas of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, banking portals, and other common login screens. The only difference is the URL — and most people don't check. They click links from emails, see a familiar login screen, enter credentials, and hand them directly to attackers.

URL verification requires training because attackers use sophisticated obfuscation. They register domains like "rnicrosoft.com" (that's r-n, not m) or "login-microsoft-secure.com." They use subdomains like "microsoft.com.attacker-site.com." Teaching employees to identify the actual domain — the text immediately before the top-level domain (.com, .org, etc.) — prevents these attacks reliably.

Better yet: don't click links in emails at all for sensitive accounts. Navigate directly to sites by typing known URLs or using bookmarks. This simple habit eliminates credential harvesting attacks entirely. When you never click email links to login pages, attackers have no way to direct you to fake sites regardless of how convincing they appear.