Staying one step ahead of cyber attacks


As remote working has been a prime opportunity for cyber attacks, Three Ireland’s focus on education, awareness and easy-to-use solutions has been key to keeping customers safe.

Phishing and smishing attacks have been part of the threat landscape for a long time, but this year saw a significant increase in their frequency across the country.

Since the summer, scammers have pretended to be entities like the Department of Social Welfare, banks, delivery companies or other businesses to trick people into handing over personal or sensitive details.

Add to that SMS scams like FluBot, which try to get recipients to click on a link (ostensibly to get details on perceived information like missing package delivery), and it becomes easier for the unaware or time-poor individual to fall for such tricks.

For these fraudsters, issuing high-volume attempts is worthwhile if one attempt is successful.

Such events only highlight the importance of good cybersecurity awareness and requires effort from all stakeholders. For Three Ireland, this means working with organisations like An Garda Síochána, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), ComReg and other relevant stakeholders to ensure measures are up to date.

Not only that, the crucial element behind all these measures is awareness, ensuring that there’s a joined-up approach in dealing with an issue that transcends countries and continents.

“We’ve an important role to play, but it all complements what the Garda, NCSC, ComReg and other organisations do to promote fraud awareness,” said Justin Moran, head of governance and security for Three Ireland. “These criminals use classic tactics to create a sense of urgency, and different people will have varying degrees of tech-savviness.

“Unfortunately, fraudsters are constantly looking for opportunities and they will often target the more vulnerable, so that’s why communications and awareness are key.”

To achieve this, Three Ireland ensures that from both the sector and as a company, its message to customers is clear, consistent, and easy to follow. Its advice ranges from not engaging with suspect calls or texts, and not sharing sensitive information, to advice if you…

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