Phishing attacks increase 61 percent over last year
A new report analyzing billions of link-based URLs, attachments and natural language messages in email, mobile and browser channels over six months in 2022, finds more than 255 million phishing attacks -- a 61 percent increase compared to 2021.
The study from messaging security company SlashNext shows earlier security strategies, including secure email gateways, firewalls, and proxy servers are no longer stopping threats, as bad actors increasingly launch these attacks from trusted services and business and personal messaging apps.
Older generations are less likely to click phishing emails
Digital natives aged between 18-39 are the most vulnerable age group for phishing scams, according to new data from security awareness training company SoSafe.
It finds that 18-39 year-olds have an average click rate of 29 percent on phishing emails, which drops to 19 percent among older age groups.
Almost 19 percent of phishing emails bypass Microsoft Defender
For many organizations, Microsoft 365 has become their default service for email. But for attackers this makes it attractive as a point of compromise.
New research from cloud and email security specialist Avanan shows that the missed phishing rate for Microsoft Defender is 18.8 percent. A previous analysis in 2020 showed 10.8 percent of phishing emails reaching inboxes, so Defender's missed phishing rates have increased by 74 percent.
Less than five percent of Fortune 500 companies are using the latest email standards
Phishing is one of the most common methods of launching a cyberattack, yet new research from Red Sift shows that only a small percentage of publicly traded companies have fully adopted the latest email standards that could protect them and their customers.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) and BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) help prevent spoofing and allow businesses to display their logo on authenticated emails.
Untrained workers don't know who to turn to when faced with cybersecurity threats
Without training, 21 percent of the workforce don't not know who to go to when faced with a cybersecurity threat.
A new report from security awareness training platform KnowBe4 shows that annual security training reduces that percentage to 17 percent.
Phishing attacks bounce back after pandemic slowdown
After a tailing off during the pandemic, phishing is back, with more attacks spotted in the second quarter of this year than for the whole of 2021.
The latest phishing and malware report from Vade also shows that malware emails decreased 48 percent month-on-month -- down from 32.9 million in March to 17 million in April -- but rebounded 31 percent May, with 22.4 million malware-weaponized emails detected. June saw even higher malware volumes (28.9 million), a 29 percent increase from the previous month.
How the banking and financial industries are gearing up against phishing
Phishing has become a matter of grave concern for banks and financial institutions, as attacks on the industry have increased in recent years. Finance is the most impersonated industry in phishing campaigns. Some 35 percent of fake websites and emails claim to be from financial institutions, according to the American Bankers Association.
This should come as no surprise, considering the industry's role in the global economy. Given that financial organizations facilitate the flow of money it makes sense that their networks, employees, and customers are prime targets for digital fraud and theft. In response, central banks and regulators have been directing financial institutions to improve their security.
Key things you didn't know about phishing
Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyberattack, fooling people into thinking they're dealing with a trusted organization in order to get them to part with credentials.
But what are the hallmarks of a phishing attack? Atlas VPN has collected some phishy statistics to find out.
Cybercriminals go phishing for data in the social media pool
The latest quarterly report from NortonLifeLock's global research team, Norton Labs, looks at how cybercriminals are using social media phishing attacks to steal private information.
Based on analysis of a full year of phishing attacks on the top social media platforms, it finds plenty of fake login pages designed to trick victims into inputting their login credentials, but also a diversity and complexity of lures going far beyond that one technique.
Three of the world's most expensive phishing attacks and how they could have been prevented
A number of high-profile cyber-attacks in 2021 thrust cybersecurity back into the spotlight. In light of the HAFNIUM hack, cybersecurity has become a major focus for many businesses. Although the hack itself was not the result of human error, it was a wake-up call for organizations to make sure they were fully protected.
The Department for DCMS' Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 revealed that phishing is still the most common cause of cybersecurity breaches, accounting for 83 percent of all successful attacks.
Why do we continue to rely on the 'weakest link' to protect our organizations' email?
Email security continues to be a top concern of organizations, with 94 percent of all cyber attacks being delivered through email. As the most frequently used communication channel across all industries -- no wonder threat actors love exploiting it!
The conventional approach to email security is failing. Our latest research found that an average of 75 malicious messages per 100 mailboxes slip past traditional email security filters every month. Consequently, organizations put employees through countless hours of security training with hopes they spot and report these threats to security operations centers. The so-called Human Firewall.
NFT marketplace OpenSea confirms customer data leak
Popular NFT marketplace OpenSea has started issuing emails to its users warning them of a leak of customer data.
OpenSea says that an employee of its email delivery vendor, Customer.io, abused their position to access and share email addresses with an unauthorized third party. The company has not given an indication of the number of users affected by the data breach, but has warned of an increased risk of phishing attacks. With the number of active users of OpenSea reported to be around 2 million -- and this does not include people who have just signed up for a newsletter -- the potential impact is huge.
The phishing bait that hooks most victims
Phishing emails referencing corporate issues and delivery problem notifications are the ones most likely to induce people to click links according to new research.
Data on simulated phishing attacks from Kaspersky's Security Awareness Platform shows emails with these subjects were successful in getting people to click 16 to 18 percent of the time.
Email threats still managing to evade defenses
New research released today from Cyren shows that business email perimeter defenses are often incapable of preventing well-crafted email attacks.
During an average month, there are 75 malicious messages per 100 mailboxes that slip past email security filters like Microsoft 365 Defender. This means that an enterprise with 5,000 mailboxes would need to detect and respond to 3,750 confirmed malicious inbox threats each month.
Researchers uncover cybercriminal stronghold targeting Facebook users
The Facebook Messenger 'Is That You?' video phishing scam has been around since 2017, but a recent investigation into it by researchers at Cybernews has led to the discovery of what they're calling a 'cybercriminal stronghold'.
Threat actors are using this to infect the social network with thousands of malicious links each day. The research has also identified at least five suspects, thought to be residing in the Dominican Republic.
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