Canon Solutions America Partners with Barracuda

Earlier this year, Canon Solutions America partnered with IT-security company Barracuda to improve their cyber security training.

Canon Solutions American not only provides customers with various kinds of imaging systems, but also the technologies that enable their devices to do more, like cloud storage and printing. As useful as these technologies can be, they prove to be the objective of many threat-actors, looking to exploit the information within. One of the ways these attackers gain entrance to these systems is Social-Engineering.

Social-Engineering

Social-Engineering attacks such as phishing emails and phone calls represent a real threat to businesses in every industry. From 2013 to 2017, it is estimated that social-engineering attacks have cost North American companies 1.7 billion dollars. In 2017 alone, it was estimated that 79% of social engineering attacks were successful on American companies, a rise of 3% from the previous year and a rise of 17% from 2014.

To help fight against Social-Engineering, Barracuda developed “PhishLine”, a computer-based training solution designed to simulate Social-Engineering attacks and train employees on how  to recognize them. The first part is computer-based, and this allows users to get a view of the latest gimmicks scammers are using. The second part consists of launching simulations to test out how employees react to these kinds of phishing ambushes. 

“Phish Line”?

With a huge service like Canon, the repercussions of a phishing attack could be significant. 

Back in 2014, Anthem, one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S. was hacked due to an Anthem employee opening a phishing email that allowed the attackers to have access to crucial information such as customers’ medical history, social security, etc. 

Canon Solutions America is definitely moving in the right direction by educating their employees about phishing. If you would like to learn more about social engineering, check out this article that goes more in-depth on the issue that is plaguing businesses worldwide.