Finance boss at Insignia Financial says staff should be SACKED if they click on suspicious work emails – and frequently tests them by sending out bogus messages

A boss at a major financial firm says employees should be fired if they are caught clicking on spam emails too often.

Frank Lombardo, chief operating and technology officer at Insignia Financial, says companies increase their chances of being exposed to a major hack if staff are unaware of the risks.

He said employees who repeatedly fail security tests, such as clicking on fraudulent emails, could potentially cost workers their jobs.

“You have to recognize that if you’ve done all you can and if there’s a weakness, and if it’s at that human level and the human just doesn’t understand it, you have to take the appropriate action,” he said. Lombardo told the Australian Financial Statement.

“It can even lead to performance management and abandonment of individuals who just don’t get it,” he said.

Mr. Lombardo said this is all part of educating workplaces on their preparedness against hackers and other forms of online criminal activity.

He said he tests his staff almost every day by sending emails designed to mimic hackers and forms of untrustworthy emails.

It’s an exercise that gives experts like Lombardo an idea of ​​who is likely to click on emails and other forms of phishing attacks.

Phishing is a form of online hacking that tricks users of electronic devices such as phones and computers into clicking a link and downloading software.

Hackers can then gain access to users’ personal data.

Hackers often target workplace email addresses to gain access to employees’ personal information, and have launched a wave of cyber attacks on several major Australian companies.

In 2022, hackers stole the private data of 30,000 current and former Telstra employees.

Nearly ten million Aussies had their personal data stolen when a hacker infiltrated the systems of telecoms giant Optus and plundered the data of its current and former customers in a separate attack.

About the same number of Aussies also had their data breached after Russian hackers gained access to the personal data of current and former customers of insurer Medibank.

Frank Lombardo (pictured), Chief Operating and Technology Officer at Insignia Financial, said he tests his staff almost every day to see if they click on phishing emails

Westpac Group Chief Information Security Officer Richard Johnson said these types of breaches pose the biggest threats to businesses.

“For the average employee of an organization, the biggest threat they face in a day will end up in their inbox – something that may have slipped through multiple layers of defenses,” Johnson told the paper.

He said Westpac staff receive at least one phishing email a month and if employees click on that email, another is sent to the employee to see if they click again.

Some employees may then limit their internet access if they cannot recognize a fraudulent email.

Businesses are increasing their security and preparedness against cybercrime after hackers stole the data of millions of Australians who were Telstra and Medibank customers in major breaches

Experts say the best defense against hacks is for employees to prepare for cybersecurity by being aware of potential threats, rather than companies relying on building security technologies.

According to the latest report from competition watchdog ACCC, the Aussies have more than lost $3 billion In 2022 alone, there will be a series of online and digital scams.

More than $24 million was lost to phishing fraud.