Email attacks using impersonation as their primary means of success are the top threats making it past Secure Email Gateways. These socially engineered messages have gradually increased in volume to overtake more malicious links or attachments typically used in payload campaigns targeting businesses.In this series, we look at the top email impersonation threats based on the reported volume in user...

QBot and Emotet payloads contributed to more than 93% of reported payload volume in Q1, according to Fortra’s PhishLabs. While QBot represented the majority of attacks, this is the first known activity by Emotet actors since 2022 and the largest spike in Emotet reports since Q2 of last year.Email payloads remain the primary delivery method of ransomware targeting organizations. PhishLabs’...

Business email compromise (BEC) is a dangerous type of email spoofing that targets businesses, aiming to damage them in some way. Overall, BEC “is one of the most financially damaging online crimes,” according to a joint Cybersecurity Advisory by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI), and the US Department of...

Ransomware and phishing are usually put in two separate categories when cyberattack methodologies are discussed. However, ransomware operators are increasingly leveraging phishing tactics to deploy their malicious payloads, and the potential for compromise is exponentiating as a result. Ransomware and Phishing - a match made in heaven Phishing is the number one delivery vehicle for ransomware...

The demand for Digital Risk Protection (DRP) is on the rise as cybercriminals are increasingly targeting businesses on channels outside the corporate firewall. According to Frost & Sullivan’s latest Frost Radar Global DRP Report, the traditional security perimeter has changed, and unlike phishing attacks that can be managed and mitigated through internal controls, these threats live on spaces not...

In Q4, Dark Web activity targeting Credit Unions reached its highest count in five consecutive quarters, according to Fortra’s PhishLabs. Attacks on Credit Unions jumped significantly during the second half of 2022, with threat actors advertising stolen card data from these institutions almost as frequently as National/Regional Banks. Data tied to financial institutions is considered especially...

Social media attacks targeting organizations closed out 2022 nearly 19% higher than Q4 of 2021, according to Fortra’s PhishLabs. Social platforms continue to act as a hotbed for malicious activity, leaving organizations of all sizes vulnerable to impersonation and abuse. As of Q4, businesses can expect an average of 72.54 attacks on social media per month. ...

A famous front cover of The Economist in 2017 declared that the 'world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.' The value of data has indeed increased significantly. Organizations rely on data and data analytics for almost every facet of their operations and use it to make insightful decisions to help move the business forward.Many have invested in the tools and solutions - AI, CRM,...

The rise of globally dispersed workforces and new work from home requirements are placing extraordinary pressure on every organization’s cybersecurity. And wherever there is upheaval, so cyber criminals thrive. Alongside the devastating health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, we have also seen an escalation in cyber-attacks. A recent CISO/CIO survey, looking at cybersecurity...

Unsurprisingly the defense industry requires the most secure information sharing environment in the world, but what implications does this have for ensuring the effective mitigation of cyber risks? There is something of a paradox between the need for complete information governance in the defense sector and the rise of IoT, BYOD, cloud computing and the democratization of data in today’s blurred...

When considering cybersecurity policies and risk management, protection from phishing, ransomware, and other Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are usually top of mind. Data loss protection usually makes the list as well. However, one area of risk that can be overlooked is supply chain cybersecurity attacks. Trusted partners are vital to organizations but the cyber risks they pose can be just as...

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote that “the beginning is the most important part of the work.” The great American statesman, scientist, and philosopher Benjamin Franklin similarly emphasized the importance of planning when he stated that “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”It is unfortunate that many cybercriminals heed their advice today. The number of threats continues to increase...

When it comes to cybersecurity, any organization is only as strong as its weakest link. It may have invested in the best email security solutions, information security, web security solutions, and Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) on the market. It may also have trained its employees to recognize and react to cyber-attacks and put in place the processes to deal with social engineering lures.But if...