How would you handle a phishing email reported by an employee?

Handling a phishing email reported by an employee involves a structured approach to ensure the threat is neutralized and future risks are minimized. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Acknowledge the Report

• Thank the employee for reporting the phishing email. Encourage a culture of vigilance by reinforcing the importance of reporting suspicious emails.

2. Isolate the Email

• Instruct the employee not to click on any links, download attachments, or respond to the email.
• If the email is still in their inbox, ask them to move it to a designated quarantine folder (if your organization has one) or mark it as spam.

3. Analyze the Email

• Examine the email headers, sender address, links, and attachments to determine if it is a phishing attempt.
• Use email security tools or sandboxing to analyze attachments or links for malicious content.

4. Contain the Threat

• If the email is confirmed as phishing, block the sender’s email address and domain in your email security system.
• If the email contains malicious links or attachments, block access to those URLs or files across the organization.

5. Assess the Impact

• Determine if any employees interacted with the email (e.g., clicked a link, downloaded an attachment, or provided sensitive information).
• If sensitive information was compromised, follow your incident response plan to mitigate the damage (e.g., reset passwords, notify affected parties).

6. Notify Relevant Parties

• Inform your IT security team and other stakeholders about the phishing attempt.
• If the phishing email targeted multiple employees, send a company-wide alert to warn others and remind them of best practices.

7. Educate Employees

• Use the incident as a learning opportunity. Share details of the phishing attempt (without revealing sensitive information) to educate employees on how to spot similar threats.
• Provide training on phishing awareness and reinforce the importance of reporting suspicious emails.

8. Update Security Measures

• Review and update your email security filters and policies to block similar phishing attempts in the future.
• Consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other security measures to reduce the risk of compromised accounts.

9. Document the Incident

• Record details of the phishing attempt, including how it was reported, actions taken, and lessons learned.
• Use this information to improve your organization’s incident response process.

10. Monitor for Further Activity

• Keep an eye on your systems for any signs of compromise or additional phishing attempts.
• Regularly review logs and alerts to ensure no further threats are present.

By following these steps, you can effectively handle a phishing email and reduce the risk of future incidents.