Double Trouble: Understanding the Risks and Realities of Cloning in Cybersecurity

Cloning is a technique used by cybercriminals to create a copy of something or someone to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, systems, and networks. Cloning can come in various forms, such as cloned websites, emails, phone numbers, and even devices. As such, understanding the risks and realities of cloning in cybersecurity is essential to protect your organization’s data and assets.

Let’s explore the various risks and realities of cloning in cybersecurity. Also, important it is to provide cybersecurity awareness and training to your employees to build a robust Human Firewall.

What is Cloning in Cybersecurity?

Cloning can pose several risks to an organization’s cybersecurity. Cybercriminals use cloning as a tactic to trick employees into disclosing sensitive information, clicking on malicious links or attachments, and installing malware on the organization’s system.

Phishing is one of the most common types of cloning attacks, which are designed to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials, social security numbers, credit card details, and other personal information.

According to the 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, phishing attacks were involved in 36% of data breaches, making them the most commonly used tactics by cybercriminals. Moreover, the report found that 85% of data breaches involved human interaction, meaning that cybercriminals rely heavily on human error to carry out their attacks.

Facts About Cloning in Cybersecurity

One of the significant challenges of cloning is that it can be difficult to detect. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics, making it harder for traditional security measures such as firewalls and antivirus software to detect cloned websites, emails, or phone numbers. As such, it is essential to have a well-trained workforce capable of identifying suspicious emails and websites.

Cybercriminals often use social engineering tactics to trick employees into believing that they are legitimate sources of information, making it critical to educate employees on the signs of phishing and other types of cyberattacks.

The Importance of Human Firewall and its Approach to Cybersecurity Awareness Training

The Human Firewall concept refers to treating employees as cybersecurity’s first line of defence. By training employees on how to identify and respond to potential security threats, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and other cyberattacks.

Employees need to understand the importance of maintaining good cybersecurity hygiene, such as creating strong passwords, avoiding clicking on suspicious links, and keeping their software up to date. Implementing a cybersecurity awareness and training program can help employees identify and respond to potential threats.

According to the 2020 Cost of Insider Threats Global Report by IBM, the average cost of an insider threat incident due to negligence of an employee or contractor accounts for $307,111 and in total $11.45 million. The report found that 63% of insider threat incidents were caused by employee or contractor negligence, highlighting the importance of cybersecurity awareness training, and 14% related to user credential theft.

Investing in cybersecurity awareness and training can help organizations avoid costly data breaches and protect their reputation.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, cloning cybersecurity poses a significant risk to cybersecurity, and it is essential to understand the risks and realities of this threat.

The key to protecting your organization’s data and assets is to implement HumanFirewall’s approach which includes cybersecurity awareness and training for employees. By doing so, you can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and other cyberattacks, ultimately saving your organization both time and money. In addition to training, implementing other security measures such as multi-factor authentication, password managers, and encryption can help protect your data and assets.