Our recent Africa Cybersecurity Awareness survey has revealed a startling surge in cybersecurity concerns among African users, with 58% of respondents expressing high levels of worry about cybercrime - a figure that has nearly doubled from 29% in 2023. The fear is not unfounded. As highlighted by Interpol's African Cyberthreat Report 2024, the continent has witnessed a significant uptick in cybercrime, along with its financial and social repercussions.

Researchers at Zimperium warn that a large phishing campaign is impersonating the US Postal Service (USPS) to target mobile devices with malicious PDF files. The goal of the campaign is to direct users to a spoofed USPS website designed to harvest personal information. “The investigation into this campaign uncovered over 20 malicious PDF files and 630 phishing pages, indicating a large-scale operation,” the researchers write.

AI is advancing at lightning speed, but it’s also raising some big questions, especially when it comes to security. The latest AI making headlines is DeepSeek, a Chinese startup that’s shaking up the game with its cost-efficient, high-performing models. But it’s also raising red flags for cybersecurity pros. DeepSeek overnight became a top contender, mostly driven by curiosity.

A KnowBe4 Threat Lab Publication Authors: Jeewan Singh Jalal, Anand Bodke, and Martin Kraemer Executive Summary The KnowBe4 Threat Lab analyzed a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting multiple organizations to harvest Microsoft credentials. Threat actors utilized a compromised domain, its subdomains, bulk email services, and open redirect vulnerability to evade detection and increase click success rates.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google were the most commonly impersonated brands in phishing attacks last quarter, according to researchers at Check Point. “Microsoft retained its dominance as the most imitated brand in phishing schemes, accounting for a staggering 32% of all attempts,” Check Point says. “Apple followed with 12%, while Google ranked third. Notably, LinkedIn reentered the list at fourth place, emphasizing the persistent targeting of technology and Social Network brands.

73% of educational institutions in the UK have sustained at least one cyberattack or breach in the past five years, according to researchers at ESET. Additionally, a fifth of these organizations said they’ve experienced three or more cyberattacks. 43% of the organizations surveyed cited phishing attacks as their top concern.

Drivers across the U.S. are being bombarded with fraudulent text messages claiming to come from toll operators like E-ZPass. These messages threaten fines for unpaid toll fees and aim to steal personal and financial information. Security experts warn that these scams are becoming more sophisticated, driven by new phishing tools developed and sold in China.

A new survey by cybersecurity vendor Netwrix found that 84% of healthcare organizations spotted a cyberattack in the past twelve months, with phishing attacks accounting for 63% of these incidents. “Phishing was the most common type of incident experienced on premises, similar to other industries,” Netwrix says. “Account compromise topped the list for cloud attacks: 74% of healthcare organizations that spotted a cyberattack reported user or admin account compromise.”

Phishing attacks are the most common security issue for smartphone users, according to a new study by Omdia. The survey found that nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents have fallen victim to a mobile phishing attack. The second most common mobile threat was malware, which is usually delivered via social engineering. The researchers note that phishing attacks reached all the smartphones assessed in the study, regardless of vendor.

Researchers at Malwarebytes are tracking a major malvertising campaign that’s abusing Google Ads to target individuals and businesses interested in advertising. The threat actors are using compromised Google Ads accounts to run ads that impersonate Google, leading victims to a fake Google login page designed to steal their credentials.

The Russian threat actor “Star Blizzard” has launched a spear-phishing campaign attempting to compromise WhatsApp accounts, according to researchers at Microsoft. The operation targets individuals who are involved in providing assistance to Ukraine.

Interpol has recently recommended discontinuing the use of the term "Pig Butchering" in cybercrime discussions, expressing concern that such terminology may discourage victims from reporting incidents due to feelings of shame or embarrassment. While some may question whether Interpol is over analysing the situation, it is prudent to consider the implications carefully. Modifying established cybersecurity terminology could potentially lead to public confusion.

An SMS phishing (smishing) campaign is attempting to trick Apple device users into disabling measures designed to protect them against malicious links, BleepingComputer reports. “Apple iMessage automatically disables links in messages received from unknown senders, whether that be an email address or phone number,” BleepingComputer explains.

Threat actors are abusing Google Translate’s redirect feature to craft phishing links that appear to belong to, according to researchers at Abnormal Security. Users are more likely to trust links that end in Google’s “.goog” domain, and security filters are less likely to flag these URLs as malicious. “When you enter a URL into Google Translate, it generates a new link, redirecting the user through its platform to the requested page,” the researchers explain.

Ransomware groups claimed responsibility for 5,461 attacks in 2024, with 1,204 of these attacks being publicly confirmed by victim organizations, according to Comparitech’s latest Ransomware Roundup report. The average ransom demand was more than $3.5 million, and the average ransom paid was $9.5 million. Many of these attacks involved data theft extortion, leading to the breach of nearly 200 million records.

Social engineering and phishing are involved in 70% - 90% of data breaches. No other root cause of malicious hacking (e.g., unpatched software and firmware, eavesdropping, cryptography attacks, physical theft, etc.) comes close. In fact, if you add up all other causes for successful cyberattacks together, they do not come close to equaling the damage done by social engineering and phishing alone.

In cybersecurity, email has always been a critical concern. However, we feel the new 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Email Security Platforms has signaled a shift in how we approach email protection. We believe this new Magic Quadrant encompasses a broader spectrum of email security providers to reflect the evolving threat landscape and the need for more integrated products.

Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) has attributed more than 200 cyber incidents over the past five years to the China-aligned threat actor “MirrorFace,” Infosecurity Magazine reports.

The UK government decided to wage war on explicit deepfakes. About time, right? But before we start celebrating, let's take a closer look. The fact is that this isn’t about technology, it’s about human behaviour. The government is not trying to outright ban deepfakes, which would be impossible, to be honest. They're targeting the misuse of this tech for nefarious purposes.

Researchers at SlashNext warn that cybercriminals are using a WordPress plugin called “PhishWP” to spoof payment pages and steal financial information. The spoofed pages are designed to steal payment card numbers, expiration dates, CVVs, and billing addresses. The plugin can also intercept one-time passwords generated to secure the transactions. The stolen data is immediately sent to the crooks via Telegram as soon as the victim hits “enter” on the phishing page.

A phishing campaign is abusing Microsoft 365 test domains to send legitimate payment requests from PayPal, according to Fortinet’s CISO Dr. Carl Windsor. Windsor found that the threat actor registered a free MS365 test domain and used it to create a distribution list containing targets’ email addresses. The scammer then used this distribution list to send payment requests via PayPal’s web portal.

A phishing campaign is targeting users with phony offers to beta test new video games, according to researchers at Malwarebytes. The phishing messages are sent via Discord, email, or text message. The messages purport to come from a game developer, and include a link to download an archive supposedly containing the game’s installer.

Credential phishing attacks surged by 703% in the second half of 2024, according to a report by SlashNext. Phishing attacks overall saw a 202% increase during the same period. “Since June, the number of attacks per 1,000 mailboxes each week has increased linearly,” the researchers write. “Currently, we are capturing close to one advanced attack per mailbox each week. As we reach the 1,000 threshold, this translates to nearly one advanced attack for every single mailbox each month.

Securonix warns that tax-themed phishing emails are attempting to deliver malware via Microsoft Management Console (MSC) files. “The attack likely starts with either a phishing email link or attachment,” the researchers explain.