How to Protect Your Credit Union from Phishing Attacks

The increased use of digital technology around the globe over the past couple of years has also led to an increase in cyberattacks--particularly phishing. Phishing refers to when a malicious actor sends fraudulent emails or messages with the intent of stealing your personal information and/or money. Since credit unions have access to both the personal information of their members and their money, it makes them ripe targets for phishing and other types of attacks online.

One thing that credit unions can do to prepare for cyberattacks is participate in the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) annual Cyber Awareness Month in October to learn more about the types of attacks to look out for and how to prepare for them. Beefing up cybersecurity and using the right technologies and core providers is also important for credit unions who want to stay digitally secure moving forward.

How can your credit union detect phishing emails?

Knowing what to look for when it comes to phishing attacks is important for all credit unions (CUs) to understand. Cyber criminals often send disguised emails that trick individuals into revealing their credit or debit card numbers, passwords and other personal information. Unfortunately, even if your credit union has top-notch cyber security measures in place, “phishers” will try to take advantage of human errors and mistakes to gain access to information.

Listed below are some of the things you can do to improve your credit union’s cyber security and protect your members:

• Know what to look for. Strange formatting or an unusual sense of urgency are red flags when it comes to phishing. Also, if an email comes from a business or address that you’re unfamiliar with or is different from the emails you normally receive from that business, this could be a “tell.”  
• Regularly test your team. The best way to test your team is by sending them real-world examples of phishing emails each week. Have employees report emails that they find to be suspicious, and continually increase the difficulty levels of the tests. By giving real-world examples, employees will get a better sense of what is out there and what to look for. 
• Build a multi-layered defense. Your employees are important, but they cannot be your only line of defense. Anti-virus and anti-malware software, as well as behavior monitoring, are necessary. Finally, choosing the right credit union core technology for your CU can help with cyber security. 
• Educate your members. Phishers are likely to try to contact your members directly, so teach them about phishing and how to look out for suspicious emails. 

You can also encourage your employees and members to attend and participate in October’s annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month to learn more about phishing threats and how to stay safe online.

FLEX credit union core technology

Choosing the right credit union core technology for your digital platform is also crucial for enhancing your CU’s all-around cybersecurity. FLEX core technology can help your credit union run a multifaceted cybersecurity system to keep you and your members secure from cyberattacks. For more information about how FLEX can help your CU’s cybersecurity, take a look at our Security Services eGuide. It describes in detail our comprehensive security services that we offer using a multi-layered approach to guarding your network.