BEC scams Archives - Cyber Security Minute

Cyber crooks continue to exploit COVID-19 for their malicious schemes

Issued by: Help Net Security

A time of chaos is a time for opportunity for unscrupulous individuals and groups, and COVID-19 is seemingly an unmissable boon for cyber crooks. We’ve already covered a variety of COVID-19-themed scams, phishing attempts, hoaxes and malware delivery campaigns, but new and inventive approaches are popping up daily. The latest schemes and scams that exploit…

Malware & Threats

Phishing attacks at highest level in three years

Issued by: Help Net Security

The number of phishing attacks continued to rise into the autumn of 2019, according to APWG. The total number of phishing sites detected in July through September 2019 was 266,387. This was up 46 percent from the 182,465 seen in the second quarter of 2019, and almost double the 138,328 seen in Q4 2018. “This…

Malware & Threats

Phishing attacks up, especially against SaaS and webmail services

Issued by: Help Net Security

Phishing attacks continued to rise into the summer of 2019 with cybercrime gangs’ focus on branded webmail and SaaS providers remaining very keen, according to the APWG report. The report also documents how criminals are increasingly perpetrating business email compromise (BEC) attacks by using gift card cash-out schemes. The number of phishing attacks observed in…

Malware & Threats

Fileless attacks designed to disguise malicious activity up 265%

Issued by: Help Net Security

Trend Micro published its roundup report for the first half of 2019, revealing a surge in fileless attacks designed to disguise malicious activity. Detections of this threat alone were up 265% compared to the first half of 2018. “Sophistication and stealth are the name of the cybersecurity game today as corporate technology and criminal attacks…

Network Security

Businesses need to rethink security priorities due to shifting trends

Issued by: Help Net Security

One shift in attacks that businesses should be aware of is the rapid growth of cryptocurrency mining, which increased 237 percent, according to the 2018 Security Roundup Report by Trend Micro. Overall, attacks that capitalize on the human desire to respond to urgent requests from authority are on the rise, such as Business Email Compromise…

Vulnerabilities

Healthcare email fraud: Attack attempts jump 473% over two years

Issued by: Help Net Security

Proofpoint found that healthcare organisations were targeted in 96 email fraud attacks on average in Q4 2018 – a 473 percent jump from Q1 2017. More than half of these organisations (53 percent) were attacked more often, with incidents up between 200 and 600 percent during the two-year period. Researchers analysed more than 160 billion…

Malware & Threats

How email fraud tactics continue to find new life

Issued by: Help Net Security

Almost as soon as email became widely used, crooks and scammers began using it as a means to defraud people. In today’s world, malicious fake emails continue to be a huge problem for individuals and businesses. Businesses make lucrative targets Losses due to BEC scams are escalating, and criminals are targeting organizations with emails that,…

Malware & Threats

Most impersonated brands in email attacks? Microsoft and Amazon

Issued by: Help Net Security

Nearly two-thirds of all advanced email attacks used emails impersonating Microsoft or Amazon, according to new research by Agari. Microsoft was impersonated in 36 percent of all (brand) display name impersonation attacks in the third quarter. Amazon was the second most commonly impersonated company, used in 27 percent of these attacks. Amazon and Microsoft run…

Vulnerabilities

6.4 billion fake emails sent every day

Issued by: Help Net Security

The Valimail Q2 2018 Email Fraud Landscape shows that fake email continues to be a serious problem, with an estimated 6.4 billion fake emails sent every day. That total includes only exact-domain sender spoofing, in which senders put a fake email address in the From: field of their messages. This is one of the most…