Nearly 40% of Norwegian companies were exposed to information security fraud in 2017 according to a new survey.
The business safety council presented its ‘Mørketallsundersøkelse’ Survey on Thursday. It also emerged that the company’s own employees are the main reason for the companies being exposed to fraud.
So-called phishing, i.e. “fishing” for sensitive information, and other forms of social manipulation are among the most fraudulent methods used.
Phishing is about tricking the recipient to disclose personal information, account numbers or card details, and is often done by email or text.
“Unfortunately, many Norwegians are affected by this type of fraud, which also puts Norwegian business security at risk,” said consumer economist Elin Reitan in Nordea in a commentary on the survey.
18% of companies surveyed reported that they were exposed to phishing or other social manipulations in 2017, compared with 8% the year before.
“There is a clear indication that safety practices are too lax in many Norwegian companies,” said Reitan.
The survey also revealed that in 55% of cases where companies reported safety breaches, the failure was due to human error.
Reitan has the following five tips to reduce the likelihood of phishing:
1 – Do not open email attachments uncritically,
2 – be careful about links,
3 – never give your personal information,
4 – check the grammar of emails and the text messages you receive, and
5 – be careful about who you add as friends in social media.
The business safety council is aimed at preventing crime in and against business and the ‘Mørketallsundersøkelse’ is part of the Council’s information work.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
