Retarus Presents Free Anti-Phishing Guide

Singapore, 17/4/2020 // The coronavirus crisis is turning daily work routines upside down in Singapore, as in the case around the world. Businesses in Singapore are being forced to change familiar working procedures, primarily implementing staggered work hours and enabling employees to work from home as part of circuit breaker measures – perfect circumstances for online scammers to exploit.

The Threat Intelligence unit of the Munich-based cloud services provider Retarus has observed a massive increase in targeted cyberattacks. The company has now released the Retarus Anti-Phishing Guide to help raise awareness about fraudulent emails and recognise scams, while also revealing how to successfully combat such attacks.

With state-of-the-art email security services such as Retarus Email Security, companies are generally well-protected against cyberattacks. Yet with home offices set up quickly and pragmatically in the wake of the crisis, these temporary workplaces often don’t have the same level of protection as the office – the internet connection at home is not secured to the same extent as an enterprise network and attackers are managing to find their way into company networks through poorly safeguarded home computers.

How cyber criminals are exploiting the coronavirus crisis

“Official” information about the virus pandemic, offers of high-demand products such as respiratory masks and coronavirus test kits, or the purported need to install tools for the home office are just a few examples of the many ways in which scammers are trying to gain access to home office computers, and thus sneak their way into company networks. Staff working from home don’t have the option of quickly checking with colleagues across the office, whether the contents of an email could be trustworthy. This is being exploited by criminals committing CEO fraud or business email compromise (BEC) scams. These incidents involve scammers hacking and spoofing email accounts, possibly to trick recipients into sending transfers to their respective bank accounts, or to request confidential information they can use to their own advantage. By impersonating their supervisors and requesting a high degree of urgency and secrecy, specific employees are targeted to disclose confidential information or arrange the remittance of company funds.

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​How employees can protect themselves

“With 91% of all email-related security breaches emanating from poor cyber hygiene, never has it been more pressing to adopt good practices and invest in solutions that will better support remote working environments in the face of crisis. Beyond investing on email security tools, however, it is likewise paramount that businesses in Singapore and the region focus on keeping employees informed so they can be more vigilant in recognising phishing emails from valid email requests, as they shift towards implementing work-from-home schemes,“ said Dylan Castagne, Managing Director, Retarus Asia.

How employees in the home office can protect themselves optimally from phishing emails, how to recognise well-disguised scam emails, and how to behave correctly in cases of uncertainty are revealed in the Retarus Anti-Phishing Guide, which is now available for free download.

About Retarus

Retarus is a global provider of APIs, gateways, and applications for messaging, email management, and the exchange of structured data for business processes – with top performance, security, and data protection, provided from the company's self-operated data centers around the globe. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Retarus is owner-managed and proud of its innovation power. The company employs a staff of around 500 at 20 locations on four continents. Retarus' services are leveraged by the world's leading companies. The services are sold directly by Retarus or in close collaboration with selected partners. Analysts constantly commend Retarus' outstanding quality and reliability. More details: www.retarus.com