The reality is simple. Phishing attacks are more prevalent than ever before.An estimated 3.4 billion fraudulent emails are sent out daily as part of phishing schemes, resulting in the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) receiving over 651,800 phishing-related complaints annually.Adjusted losses for affected organizations topped $2.4 billion, costing them losses of up to $17,700 per minute...

Over 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent out to unsuspecting recipients daily. At this rate, over 1 trillion email scams are deployed in one calendar year.The sheer enormity of these numbers makes it easier to understand how and why employees become victims of phishing email scams.Their typical email inbox is overflowing with emails from colleagues, partners, friends, family, third-party...

One of the most frequent attack vectors for cyber attackers is also one of the most used workplace applications. And you guessed it... that application is email. Thankfully, a lot of sophisticated technology these days can help protect organizations from cyber threats. Even so, this attack vector still puts your end users on the front lines of the cyber security threats. This means that to...

An urgent voicemail message from the tax department. A text message from Microsoft tech support warning you about a problem with your computer. A caller asking you to confirm your mailing address and credit card number so you can collect your free prize. A text message requesting your confirmation of an Amazon shipment. These are all examples of smishing and vishing cyber attacks. They have...

A lot of ink over the years has gone into comparing the most common generations within the workplace—and for a good reason. Generations are a great way to compare and study variations in broad subjects like the importance of job security, working habits, and technology usage. These generalizations have been crucial data for many important workplace improvements, including cyber security awareness...

It’s upsetting when bad actors turn the good things in life against us. We use social media daily to celebrate, learn, keep in touch, fall in love, and buy things that satisfy our needs and wants. Unfortunately, hackers exploit that information to execute phishing attacks. Social media platforms did not only experience more attacks in 2022, but it’s also become the fastest-growing attack surface....

Everyone wants to look good in front of their boss. Which is exactly why an urgent email from the CEO of your company is guaranteed to catch your attention. You’re more likely to act on the request immediately without questioning the details. But what if that email didn’t come from your boss? All it takes is one savvy email that encourages an employee to act on behalf of their team leader. For...

Everyone wants to impress their boss, which is exactly what scammers rely on nowadays to carry out sophisticated phishing attacks called CEO fraud. Examples of CEO fraud are becoming increasingly common, with attackers regularly sending out phishing emails to an organization's employees and impersonating the top executive. This often comes with a demand at the end of the day that must be...

As much as we can say that cyber security measures are advancing, we can say the same about cyber criminals and their strategies. In 2022, ransomware attacks occurred every 11 seconds on average, at a global annual cost to businesses and governments of $20 billion US. Costs are rising in part due to the growing ransoms demanded from victims. While estimates of the average ransomware payout in...

Did you know that gift card scams are among the most popular cyber threats? The same things that make gift cards popular with consumers—convenience and ease of use—also make them attractive to scammers as a vehicle for fraud. Gift cards, also known as gift certificates or vouchers, have topped the list of reported fraud payment methods every year since 2018, according to the Federal Trade...

When it comes to cyber crime, hackers like to locate the most high-value targets, whether it’s a piece of infrastructure or an individual with access to privileged information, all while expending the least effort possible. In most examples of spear phishing attacks, a criminal will send out targeted attacks via email to multiple users. In these emails, the attacker will use high-pressure...

In early July, IT solutions provider and remote management solution provider Kaseya announced that it had fallen victim to a supply chain ransomware attack. During the attack, hackers leveraged a vulnerability in Kaseya’s VSA platform to encrypt the data of hundreds of downstream MSPs and their clients. The Kaseya ransomware outbreak is one of the latest high-profile ransomware attacks targeting...

During the last week of January 2021, cyber security provider TrendMicro shared a blog post highlighting an Office-365 phishing campaign that criminals have targeted executives within manufacturing, tech, real estate, government, and finance since May 2020. As part of the scam, fraudsters sent the victims fake emails with links to a phishing site, where they harvested their credentials to sell...

Discover security awareness trends and best practices for 2021 Your employees are your first line of defense against cyber security attacks. The strength of your security awareness program depends on every employee in your organization. As part of your organizational goals and plans for 2021, you need to prioritize building a cyber secure and aware culture. This requires an ongoing commitment...

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic saw enterprises across the globe rapidly adopt remote working to support social distancing and comply with quarantine restrictions implemented by national governments. Amid this chaos, many cyber criminals created new phishing scams and other online threats, leading to many high profile data breaches. One of the most alarming trends that emerged this...

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, and the Christmas holidays fast approaching, cyber criminals are working round the clock to create new scams, such as the shipping notification scam, to phish for private information and commit identity fraud. As many employees will be shopping online during working hours, cyber security leaders need to educate employees on phishing threats and teach...

Security awareness training for financial services and bank employees must be a top priority. While financial services institutions have long been prime targets for cybercriminals, as most attacks are financially motivated, the shift to remote work business models and operations has heightened cyber security risk levels. Recent data reinforces why financial services CISOs and security leaders need...

Since December 2019, there has been a coordinated campaign of phishing attempts targeting Office 365 users. Cyber criminals have sent spoofed email, gathering the login credentials and payment details of Microsoft accounts in over 62 countries. According to one report, despite a 42% reduction in phishing attempts in 2019, scams like this Microsoft Office 365 campaign remain a significant threat...

Social networking overlaps corporate and personal lives, and so should the mission to create a culture of security awareness. It’s true. There was little – if nothing – any Facebook user could have done to prevent their passwords from getting exposed earlier this spring. Just look at the facts of the case, said Theo Zafirakos, Chief Information Security Officer and Security Awareness Coach at...