BEC Phishing Scam Tricks City into Transferring $530K

Exploit: Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Company: City of Burlington
Industry: Government
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/city-of-burlington-falls-for-503-000-phishing-scheme-1.5174695

With malicious attacks on local governments on the rise, the software and applications used to target and infiltrate systems is growing more and more sophisticated. A recent email BEC phishing attack was deployed against the City of Burlington, where hackers were able to successfully trick staff members into thinking that they were dealing with established city vendors. By not cluing in on time, the city sent $503,000 to a falsified bank account. The government is now working on updating and implementing new protocols to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future.

As targeted attacks continue to rise, so do the chances of human error playing a role in these attacks. Proper cyber security training and awareness can help to prevent such attacks from occurring. Adding in more layers of security such as advanced email security or user activity monitoring can act as a deterrent to attackers and backup to security to users. Although nothing is 100% effective, training staff to be more cognizant of the growing threats can help your organization have a higher chance of keeping data and financials safe.

Protect Your Business Against Modern Cyber Threats

More than ever, organizations of all sizes have been facing a historical rise in cyber attacks and data breaches. Talk to a cyber security expert today and find out how we can provide expert consulting and a portfolio of Cyber Security solutions designed to protect your organization against today’s most prevalent threats.