4 ms·

"Don't click on links" is not a solution, and it's not something people actually do, it's just something they think they do. Corporate Security will tell you t

"Don't click on links" is not a solution, and it's not something people actually do, it's just something they think they do. Corporate Security will tell you that it's ok to click links to the payroll system or hr or vanta or the 'secure email service' or jira or github or to docusign or the microsoft office document that a partner company sent you or an amazon delivery notification, but not ok to click links in the phishing email that looks exactly like one of those that they sent you. It's not possible to tell whether a message giving you a link to something is 'sketchy' or not before clicking the link, and any 'security' that relies on people knowing whether a message is malicious or not by magic is broken in the real world.

subscribed 5mo ago
In my company I regularly see genuine, legitimate emails that carry several huge red flags, like these conveyed to us on trainings. If I can plausibly claim I wasn't sure it was legit (ie it was sent from the outside form the sketchy looking host), I'd always report it internally as phishing attempt. Just to make the security work with it.
- marysol5 5mo ago
  There's also something about "admin" and "HR" systems in companies where they ignore everything they told you not to do. I don't think I've worked anywhere yet that does 2FA, SSO, or even a vaguely usable system that doesn't look like it was made 30 years ago in these departments. Which is extra troubling as these systems are the ones with the PII!
encom 5mo ago
>It's not possible to tell whether a message giving you a link to something is 'sketchy' or not before clicking the link Sure it is. It's just not something the average user can do. But what makes the situation worse is that most emails now use click tracking, so ALL links are sketchy. For example, emails from my union all link to 2mv.aplink.red and are 200 characters long and look like /dev/urandom output. No fucking idea what or who controls that domain, but it for sure is not my union. I've complained multiple times, including acting dumb and asking if they've been hacked because their email look shady as hell. Email with the unsubscribe link wrapped in click tracking gets sent straight to SpamCop. I hate tech more and more every day.
- saagarjha 5mo ago
  I think you are providing a very good argument for why even technical users cannot distinguish legitimate links from sketchy ones.
ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago
> "Don't click on [sketchy] links" is not a solution, and it's not something people actually do, it's just something they think they do. And yet, there is currently no better solution I'm aware of, so that is what they must do. "Just let anybody click and open anything" is not a solution, either.
- kybernetikos 5mo ago
  It's not a solution, it's the problem statement.
  - ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago
    If the solution you're suggesting is not a solution, then the solution I suggested (which is a solution) seems to be the best one we have at the moment.
    - ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago
      > It's not a solution It seems we're in violent agreement: neither of us think that "just let anybody click and open anything" is a solution. That leaves us with the robust solution cited earlier: "Don't click on sketchy links".
      - deleted 5mo ago
        [deleted]
brandonwindson 5mo ago
[flagged]

subscribed 5mo ago

In my company I regularly see genuine, legitimate emails that carry several huge red flags, like these conveyed to us on trainings. If I can plausibly claim I wasn't sure it was legit (ie it was sent from the outside form the sketchy looking host), I'd always report it internally as phishing attempt. Just to make the security work with it.

marysol5 5mo ago
There's also something about "admin" and "HR" systems in companies where they ignore everything they told you not to do. I don't think I've worked anywhere yet that does 2FA, SSO, or even a vaguely usable system that doesn't look like it was made 30 years ago in these departments. Which is extra troubling as these systems are the ones with the PII!

encom 5mo ago

>It's not possible to tell whether a message giving you a link to something is 'sketchy' or not before clicking the link Sure it is. It's just not something the average user can do. But what makes the situation worse is that most emails now use click tracking, so ALL links are sketchy. For example, emails from my union all link to 2mv.aplink.red and are 200 characters long and look like /dev/urandom output. No fucking idea what or who controls that domain, but it for sure is not my union. I've complained multiple times, including acting dumb and asking if they've been hacked because their email look shady as hell. Email with the unsubscribe link wrapped in click tracking gets sent straight to SpamCop. I hate tech more and more every day.

saagarjha 5mo ago
I think you are providing a very good argument for why even technical users cannot distinguish legitimate links from sketchy ones.

ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago

> "Don't click on [sketchy] links" is not a solution, and it's not something people actually do, it's just something they think they do. And yet, there is currently no better solution I'm aware of, so that is what they must do. "Just let anybody click and open anything" is not a solution, either.

kybernetikos 5mo ago
It's not a solution, it's the problem statement.
- ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago
  If the solution you're suggesting is not a solution, then the solution I suggested (which is a solution) seems to be the best one we have at the moment.
  - ImPostingOnHN 5mo ago
    > It's not a solution It seems we're in violent agreement: neither of us think that "just let anybody click and open anything" is a solution. That leaves us with the robust solution cited earlier: "Don't click on sketchy links".
    - deleted 5mo ago
      [deleted]

brandonwindson 5mo ago

[flagged]