Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Social engineering remains a primary initial access vector for cybercriminals, according to a new report from Europol. “Social engineering, which exploits human error to gain access to systems or personal information, stands out as a prominent technique used by criminal actors in this context,” Europol says.

ClickFix has quickly become a rampant social-engineering tactic. First observed back in October 2023, it aims to trick users into pasting commands into the run dialog box under the guise of verifying the user’s connection and authenticity to the domain. Given its ease of use and ability to bypass technical security measures, adoption of ClickFix has been growing at an alarming rate.

Arctic Wolf has identified a social engineering campaign targeting health care providers in the United States. Throughout multiple incidents, hospital help desks have received suspicious phone calls from unidentified individuals claiming to be doctors who had forgotten their password. When the callers were confronted with a request to verify their identities, including first name and department affiliation, the suspicious callers disconnected.

OpenAI has published a report looking at AI-enabled malicious activity, noting that threat actors are increasingly using AI tools to assist in social engineering attacks and influence operations. In one case, the company banned ChatGPT accounts that were likely being used in North Korean attempts to fraudulently obtain jobs at US companies. “Similar to the threat actors we disrupted and wrote about in February, the latest campaigns attempted to use AI at each step of the employment process.

The FBI is warning that the Silent Ransom Group (SRG) is targeting law firms with IT-themed social engineering attacks and callback phishing emails. SRG is a cybercriminal gang that demands ransoms in exchange for not leaking stolen data. “SRG has been operating since 2022 and has primarily been known for their callback phishing emails, masquerading as well-known businesses who offer subscription plans,” the FBI explains.

Cyber threats aren’t always about complex code or advanced hacking tools. Often, they start with a simple trick—convincing someone to click a link, share a password, or let someone into a secure area. This tactic is called social engineering. Social engineering is when attackers trick people into breaking security rules. Instead of hacking systems, they use lies, pressure, or fake trust to get what they want. These attacks work well because they target human emotions, not technology.

A constantly shifting threat landscape has given rise to a new cyberattack vector, driven by two powerful forces: the rapid migration of data to the cloud and the fundamental change in how employees access and interact with that data. Today’s workforce expects the freedom to work and access information from any device—especially mobile devices, which have become integral to their professional and personal lives.

A social engineering campaign is abusing Zoom's remote control feature to take control of victims’ computers and install malware, according to researchers at security firm Trail of Bits. The operation targeted Trail of Bits’ CEO, who recognized it as malicious and didn’t fall for the attack. The researchers have attributed the campaign to the ELUSIVE COMET threat actor.