Hackers go phishing for the holidays
It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s busy – at work and at home. That includes cybercriminals, too. In fact, the holiday season is when busy, distracted people tend to be especially vulnerable to phishing attacks. Just one click on a phishing link in a realistic-looking email or package shipment notice from even the savviest…
Phishing attacks are a complex problem that requires layered solutions
Most cyber attacks start with a social engineering attempt and, most often that not, it takes the form of a phishing email. It’s easy to understand the popularity of this attack vector: phishing campaigns are relatively inexpensive (money- and time-wise), yet successful. Attackers don’t need to create/buy technical exploits that might or might not work…
Google Expands Use of Password Checkup Tool, Unveils New Privacy Features
Launched in February 2019 as an extension for Chrome, Password Checkup is designed to display a warning whenever users log in to a website with credentials that are known to have been compromised in a third-party data breach. Password Checkup has now been added to the password manager in Google Account. This integration will enable…
Business email compromise attacks cost millions, losses doubling each year
In August 2019, someone at Japan’s Toyota Boshoku Corp. received fraudulent payment instructions by email to send 4 billion yen (about $37 million) to a third party — which they did. “We became aware that the directions were fraudulent shortly after the leakage,” the company disclosed in a statement. The company reacted quickly once it…
Employees are mistakenly confident that they can spot phishing emails
While a majority (79%) of people say they are able to distinguish a phishing message from a genuine one, nearly half (49%) also admit to having clicked on a link from an unknown sender while at work, according to a Webroot survey. Further, nearly half (48%) of respondents said their personal or financial data had…
Researchers reveal the latest lateral phishing tactics
Emails coming from legitimate, compromised accounts are difficult to spot, both for existing email protection systems and the recipients themselves. Lateral phishing tactics Researchers from Barracuda, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego have studied 180 lateral phishing incidents and have identified the following patterns organizations and individuals should be aware of: One in 10 of…
Phishing is a billion-dollar global industry, consumers are the main target
Phishing is a growing pain point for individuals, businesses and CSPs, according to Allot. Consumers are the main target of these attacks, and they are calling for better security for their data and financial information. The research shows that they are right to be concerned. The data showed that during Q1 2019, 7 million European…
What can financial institutions do to improve email security?
Financial institutions are in a fully-fledged war against data breaches. And rightly so – the finance sector is a frequent target of ransomware, phishing, and other malicious attacks. Sensitive communications are particularly vulnerable, with thousands getting leaked every year. Yet at the same time, championing email security in the finance sector may seem like a…
Despite warnings, most people still don’t change their passwords
64% of people use the same password for some, or even all, of their online accounts, while only 21% use a different password for each account. These startling findings come from a survey of 1,050 people in the UK carried out by Bilendi on behalf European email services company, GMX. According to the survey, 9%…
Latest tactics used by cybercriminals to bypass traditional email security
Cybercriminals are continuously using new strategies to get past email security gateways, with brand impersonation being used in 83 percent of spear-phishing attacks, while 1 in 3 business email compromise attacks are launched from Gmail accounts. Sextortion scams, a form of blackmail that makes up 10 percent of all spear-phishing attacks, continue to increase. Employees…