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…
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…
Thefts from cryptocurrency exchanges continue despite increased security
Although exchanges, wallets and other cryptocurrency custody services are strengthening their defenses, attackers continue to innovate and outpace even the current state of the cybersecurity art, according to CipherTrace. Even Binance, the world’s number-one cryptocurrency exchange, lost tens of millions of crypto assets to a cyberattack perpetrated by sophisticated hackers using a lethal cocktail of…
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…
Why phishing education has never been more critical to your business
Our cyber defenses are becoming stronger and stronger every year. Even the smallest companies can now deploy advanced anti-malware and intrusion detections tools that were, until recently, only within the reach of larger enterprises. Today, sandboxed behavior detection and machine-learning/artificial intelligence powered security services make it easy for organizations of any size to crack down…
Cybercriminals targeting social media: Facebook and Instagram are becoming phishers’ favorites
Social media phishing, primarily Facebook and Instagram, saw the highest quarter- over-quarter growth of any industry with a 74.7 percent increase, according to the Vade Secure Phishers’ Favorites report for Q1 2019. While Facebook has been in the top 10 since report’s inception, Instagram cracked the top 25 for the first time, taking the #24…
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…
The holiday season and cybercrime: 8 ways to protect yourself
The holiday season has become an unbridled online spending extravaganza, and threat actors have taken notice. For shoppers, what starts out as an attempt to fulfill their holiday shopping checklist for pennies on the dollar can turn into a financial nightmare. For brands, what begins as an event that significantly boosts sales can turn into…
Increased dark web activity putting merchants and consumers at risk
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting retailers and their customers through digital and social channels as retailers leverage new channels for increased revenue opportunities. In a joint report, IntSights scoured the Clear and Dark Web to assess retail data and goods being sold illegally, new cyber scam tactics and how cybercriminals impersonate brands online to trick unknowing…
Cryptocurrency mining malware increases 86%
McAfee released its McAfee Labs Threats Report September 2018, examining the growth and trends of new cyber threats in Q2 2018. In the second quarter, they saw the surge in cryptomining malware growth that began in Q4 2017 continue through the first half of 2018. McAfee also saw the continued adaptation of the type of…