As cybercriminals are now targeting internal networks, Phishing Prevention is being placed on top of the list, and these approaches provide a good starting point for your Phishing Prevention Strategy. Gone are the days when attackers simply sent scam emails — now they are working their way into your business network and stealing private data.

That’s why NAC Threat Control and SOC Suspicious Activity Detection are essential. These security features protect your network from phishing attacks before they do any harm.

Now, let’s dissect it one piece at a time.

How Phishing Breaches Inside Networks

Phishing attacks are not only aimed at individuals; they target vulnerabilities in your company’s network as well. But how does this happen?

• Phishing Emails: Fake emails are sent to your employees to click on a harmful link or download an infected file.
• Stolen Usernames and Passwords: Cybercriminals bypass security and enter company-based systems.
• Rogue Devices: Hackers configure unauthorized devices on your network and introduce malware.
• Rogue Wi-Fi: Attackers set up fake Wi-Fi connections that employees accidentally connect to and expose sensitive data.

Once inside, phishing threats can rapidly propagate, exfiltrating customer data, tampering with financial records, and auditing previous internal communications. That’s where NAC and SOC comes into play.

How NAC Prevents Unauthorized Access

NAC: The First Line of Defense against Phishing Attacks

NAC allows only authorized users and devices to connect to your network. Here’s how it helps:

1. Device Authentication

   NAC performs a thorough check on every device attempting network access.

2. Role-Based Access Control

   Employees get access only to the data they need.

   If someone steals a login ID and password, there won’t be full access.

3. Anomaly Detection

   If a device acts improperly, such as installing unknown software, NAC isolates it.

   This helps contain malware in the network.

4. Managing Guests and IoT Devices

   NAC protects against the risks presented by guests or IoT devices.

   Establishes separate networks with limited access for these users.

In a nutshell, NAC Threat Control protects your network from hackers and rogue devices.

Detection of Phishing Activity in SOC

So, NAC prevents unauthorized access, although a Security Operations Center (SOC) monitors for phishing, among other areas, 24/7 in case those threats get through.

SOC analysts deploy advanced tools to identify abnormal behaviors in real-time. Here’s how:

1. Analyzing Network Traffic

   SOC monitors all traffic patterns for abnormal activity.

   For instance, if an employee’s account suddenly begins sending hundreds of emails, SOC flags it.

2. Social Engineering Attack Detection

   Hackers impersonate executives or IT staff to get employees to fall for scams.

   Fake or suspicious communication attempts are recognized via AI-based tools of SOC.

3. Incident Response

   SOC teams respond rapidly in the case of a phishing attack.

   They investigate how the attacker entered and take steps to prevent future occurrences.

4. Automated Threat Intelligence

   SOC employs machine learning to recognize and prevent new phishing methods.

   It learns over time, keeping one step ahead of hackers.

Your network security never sleeps with SOC Suspicious Activity Detection. It prevents phishing attacks from escalating into major breaches.

PJ Networks’ Anti-Phishing Solutions

All this time we were at PJ Networks battling against phishing. We stack NAC Threat Control and SOC Suspicious Activity Detection for defense in depth.

Our solutions ensure that:

• Real-time protection against unauthorized access attempts
• SOC teams identify threats proactively, preventing data breaches.
• Ensuring compliance with data security regulations.
• Practical phishing awareness training for your staff.

We feel that cybersecurity should be proactive, not reactive. We mitigate all network-based phishing attacks with Network Access Control (NAC) and keep a watchful eye with SOC monitoring.

Conclusion

Phishing threats are evolving, with an emphasis on targeting internal networks, not just users. These attacks are best stopped in their tracks with NAC Threat Control and SOC Suspicious Activity Detection.

With the integration of NAC, blocking of unauthorized access, and with SOC, detecting threats in real-time, network breaches through phishing can be proactively reduced.

If protecting your company from phishing attacks is a top priority, it has become a necessity, not an option, to implement strong Phishing Prevention measures through proper NAC and SOC.