Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs

Effectively handling website spoofing

Protecting the website and preventing users from falling prey to website spoofing scams requires a multilayered approach whereby various methods and procedures must be employed. Any points of vulnerability on the website must be identified. The organization’s employees must be educated, raising their awareness of scams like phishing attacks and brand impersonation so they remain vigilant about potential attacks.

In addition, the most effective way of identifying and preventing spoofing attacks is by adopting the right solution. Compliance, software updates, resolving issues, customer support, and various other concerns will be handled as a third-party service provides these services. Some of the popular solution providers to prevent against spoofing attacks include:

Memcyco

Memcyco created a proprietary red alert technology that appears in real-time on spoofed websites, warning users not to engage or share personal information. Simultaneously, it alerts the brand that its website has been cloned. It also provides a uniquely identifiable digital watermark to each website, which is impossible to replicate, thus providing users with a sure way to verify that they are indeed on the real site and not on an imposter one.

Bolster

Bolster’s solution involves an automated risk monitoring technology that scans the website to identify threats and prevent spoofing attacks. It also detects spoofed websites and initiates automatic domain takedowns without human input.

Skyvia

Skyvia provides a reliable cloud-to-cloud backup and recovery solution. It lets the organizations back up all of their cloud apps in a unified interface. It also provides backup services and supports restore operations, making it easy to find the required data. The data is transmitted in an encrypted format, making it secure at the transactional points.

Mimecast

Mimecast’s anti-spoofing solution defends brands, their customers and employees, and associated entities against spoofing attacks. It identifies anomalies and blocks suspicious websites automatically. Mimecast also offers email security and authentication solutions.

Other methods

There are multiple other methods of securing websites and preventing spoofing attacks, such as implementing DNS Security extensions, where the domain names are digitally signed and become difficult for cyber criminals to replicate. Other examples include providing regular software updates, checking for vulnerabilities and points of failure and patching those issues, and/or using SSL certificates to encrypt any data transmitted between the browser and end-user devices.

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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