U.S. businesses face an ever-increasing onslaught of bad actors and social engineering attacks.
These cybercriminals target employees, executives, company brand, customers and government agencies by stealing credentials, loading malware or ransomware, defrauding customers and stalking, or shaming, doxing and swatting executives.
“Social engineering is an interesting phenomenon when you consider it’s a technique that has existed forever,” said Verizon's Managing Director of Cybersecurity Consulting, Chris Novak, in a webinar hosted by Verizon Business.
“It typically boils down to one human fooling another. In the case of cybersecurity, it’s done to access systems, applications and data,” he said. “But there is no one uniform way it takes shape, and organizations should not only address what they’re seeing now, but also lean into the future.”
Common social engineering attacks include phishing, vishing, smishing, baiting, pretexting, tailgating and piggybacking.
Meanwhile, 96% of new businesses say they carry cyber insurance in 2024, up from 86% in 2022. Among startup founders, 81% have experienced a cyberattack in their career, up from just 67% in 2022. Most (61%) believe their company is somewhat or extremely likely to face a potential data breach, up from 51% in 2023.
For small businesses, recovery costs after a cyberattack far exceed what most owners believe. Sixty-five percent believe costs would be $5,000 or less, while 20% think they'd recover in under a month.
Six in ten small businesses believe their non-cyber insurance provides coverage for breaches, ransomware incidents and other digital loss events. Only 42% of small business owners report having cyber insurance coverage.
The slideshow above illustrates tips for building a social engineering defense plan as selected by Verizon Cybersecurity Consulting Services.
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