Imagine the havoc wreaked on your business if someone gains unauthorized access to your corporate accounts. The fallout can be nothing short of catastrophic, and the harsh reality is that no organization is truly safe without proactive measures.
That’s exactly the nightmare scenario that victims of corporate account takeover attacks face. But you’re here, which means you’re already one step ahead because this article explains the inner-workings of this fairly common cyber threat and what can be done to keep it at bay.
What Is Corporate Account Takeover?
Corporate account takeover (CATO) is a type of cyber fraud that involves unauthorized access to a company’s financial or other critical accounts.
Once inside a corporate account, criminals can engage in a variety of harmful activities, such as unauthorized fund transfers, fake employee additions to payroll, and even theft of sensitive customer data.
The incidence of corporate account takeovers is on the rise. The Q2 2023 Expel Quarterly Threat Report underscores this grim reality by revealing that 56% of all detected incidents were related to account compromise or account takeover, specifically within Microsoft 365 (M365) environments.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) should pay particularly close attention to this evolving threat. Unlike larger corporations that might have the resources for extensive cybersecurity measures, SMBs often operate with tighter budgets and fewer specialized staff. As a result, they become low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals looking to make a quick buck.
Common Cyber Attacks Leading to Corporate Account Takeover
For corporate account takeover to occur, usually, one of the following cyber attacks must be executed successfully:
- Phishing: Attackers send emails that appear to be from legitimate sources in an attempt to trick employees into divulging login credentials. When executed expertly, phishing attacks can be very difficult to spot.
- Spear phishing: A more targeted form of phishing where the attacker customizes the message to a specific individual, often using personal details to make the attack more believable.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): In this attack, criminals gain control of a corporate email account, often a high-level executive’s, and use it to facilitate unauthorized fund transfers.
- Credential stuffing: Criminals use previously stolen credentials to attempt logging in across various platforms, capitalizing on the tendency for people to reuse passwords, especially when relying on single-factor authentication.
- Man-in-the-middle attacks: Attackers secretly intercept and potentially alter the communication between two parties to steal login credentials or other sensitive information. This attack tends to happen when an employee is using a poorly secured public Wi-Fi.
- Brute force attacks: This is the trial-and-error method used to obtain information such as a user password or personal identification number (PIN). It works only when password best practices are not followed.
- SIM swapping: The attacker tricks the mobile provider into switching the target’s phone number to a new SIM card. If successful, the attacker can receive all of the victim’s text messages, calls, and potentially gain access to two-factor authentication codes.
Because so many different cyber attacks can lead to a corporate account takeover, it’s clear that a single-layered security approach won’t cut it. Instead, organizations need to adopt a multi-pronged strategy that encompasses not only robust technical controls but also regular employee training and incident response planning.
How to Prevent Corporate Account Takeover?
We’ve talked about what corporate account takeover is and how it can spell disaster for any organization, especially small and medium-sized businesses. Now, let’s cover 10 effective prevention strategies that, when implemented as part of a cohesive cybersecurity strategy, can significantly reduce the risk of corporate account takeover.
1. Educate All Users on Cyber Hygiene
Let’s start with the basics: your employees are both your first line of defense and your greatest vulnerability. Comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training sessions on identifying phishing emails, secure internet use, and responsible social media behavior are crucial because they target one of the most common attack vectors for corporate account takeover: social engineering.
2. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can serve as a formidable barrier against corporate account takeover. Should a password get compromised, MFA demands a second or even third form of identification, often something that a hacker wouldn’t easily have, like a personal mobile phone or a secure key. This makes unauthorized account access considerably more challenging.
3. Adopt a Zero-Trust Architecture
Never underestimate the potential for internal threats. With a zero-trust architecture, you continually verify the credentials of even internal users, ensuring they have only the most limited access needed to perform their jobs. This significantly minimizes the risk of an internal corporate account takeover.
4. Regular Security Audits and Assessments
Perform frequent check-ups on your network’s security health. Regular audits and vulnerability assessments can help you pinpoint weaknesses and implement corrective measures before cybercriminals take advantage of them, significantly reducing the risk of corporate accounts being compromised.
5. Rely on Privileged Access Management Best Practices
When it comes to preventing corporate account takeovers, controlling and monitoring privileged accounts is of paramount importance. Privileged accounts hold the keys to sensitive data and systems, making them prime targets for cybercriminals. Following Privileged Access Management (PAM) best practices, such as just-in-time access and the principle of least privilege, can significantly fortify your organization’s defenses against such threats.
6. Keep Systems Updated and Patched
Don’t underestimate the power of regular updates. Hackers are constantly looking for software vulnerabilities that they can exploit for unauthorized account access. By keeping your systems updated, especially those systems directly involved in account management and authentication, you’re patching potential security holes before they can be exploited.
7. 24/7 Security Monitoring
Time is of the essence when you’re dealing with a potential account takeover. With 24/7 security monitoring, any unusual activities related to account access can trigger immediate alerts, enabling rapid response and reducing the damage a corporate account takeover can do.
8. Data Encryption and Secure Communication
All sensitive data should be encrypted both in transit and at rest. Encryption in transit ensures that the data moving between systems or over the network is unintelligible to anyone who might intercept it. On the other hand, encrypting data at rest protects information stored on physical devices, minimizing the consequences of physical device theft, unauthorized access, or other forms of intrusion.
9. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions continuously monitor and gather data from endpoints such as laptops, smartphones, and other devices connected to your corporate network. With EDR in place, any signs of suspicious or malicious activities that could lead to corporate account takeover can be swiftly identified and addressed.
10. Plan and Practice Incident Response
Be prepared for the worst-case scenario by having a well-documented and practiced incident response plan specifically for corporate account takeovers. Running regular drills ensures that everyone knows their role and responsibilities in the event of an attack, allowing for quicker containment and recovery.
Conclusion
The strategies we’ve outlined above are fundamental parts of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy designed to shield your organization from much more than just the high-stakes risk of corporate account takeover. Because of their critical importance, these aren’t measures you should attempt to implement on your own.
Instead, reach out to OSIbeyond, and let’s create a cybersecurity plan that’s as robust as it is practical. With our award-winning cybersecurity solutions, you’ll be able to fortify your defenses against account takeovers and a whole slew of other cyber threats with ease.