Sophos describes a QR code phishing (quishing) campaign that targeted its employees in an attempt to steal information. The attackers sent phishing emails that appeared to be related to employee benefits and retirement plans. The emails contained PDF attachments which, when opened, displayed a QR code. If an employee scanned the code, they would be taken to a phishing page that spoofed a Microsoft 365 login form. The page was designed to steal login credentials and multi-factor authentication codes.

Halloween-themed spam and phishing emails have surged over the past two months, with a significant increase beginning in October, according to researchers at Bitdefender. “Bitdefender’s telemetry indicates a sharp rise in Halloween-themed spam throughout September and October,” the researchers write. “However, Halloween-themed spam rose 18% percentage points between 1-16 October 2024, compared to the entire month of September.

As generative AI evolves and becomes a mainstream part of cyber attacks, new data reveals that deepfakes are leading the way. Deepfake technology has been around for a number of years, but the AI boom has sparked new attacks, campaigns, and players all trying to use the impersonation technology to rob victims of their credentials, personal details or money. We recently covered multiple deepfake campaigns all perpetrated by a single individual that reached a global level.

A recent report from UK Finance covered by the BBC paints a concerning picture of the evolving landscape of financial fraud. With a 16% rise in fraud cases and criminals stealing over £3 million daily, it's clear that awareness of cybersecurity threats has never been more crucial. Why Social Engineering Continues to Triumph At the heart of many of these scams is the fact that even the most robust technological defenses can be circumvented by exploiting humans.

Cybercriminals are offering tools to help phishing pages avoid detection by security tools, according to researchers at SlashNext. “Anti-bot services, like Otus Anti-Bot, Remove Red, and Limitless Anti-Bot, have become a cornerstone of complex phishing operations,” the researchers write. “These services aim to prevent security crawlers from identifying phishing pages and blocklisting them.

Phishing remains a top initial access vector for cyberattacks, according to researchers at Cisco Talos. The researchers have published a report on threat trends in the third quarter of 2024, finding that attackers are increasingly targeting valid accounts to gain footholds within organizations.

Despite the belief that today’s SOC should be doing the lion’s share of protecting an organization, new data shows reliance on more than just security teams is needed. Many of our blogs have something to do with the increasing risk of cyber attacks. So, it’s natural to see that organizations are increasing cybersecurity budgets. But according to Red Canary’s 2024 Security Operations Trends Report, it might not be enough to address the evolving threat landscape.

A recent analysis of the ransomware group Meow raises the notion that groups are evolving from using encryption as a tactic to more profitable and cost-effective methods. At the end of the day, ransomware is a business. Those behind the malware used in ransomware attacks typically seek to make money, whether that be directly from the victim organization or by way of a nation-state paying for the gang’s services.

Researchers at Trustwave observed a 140% increase in callback phishing attacks between July and September 2024. Callback phishing is a social engineering tactic that involves emails and phone calls to trick users into handing over login credentials or other sensitive data or installing malware. The attacks begin with a phishing email that appears to be a notification for something that needs to be addressed urgently, such as an order invoice or an account termination notice.

Sixty-four percent of IT leaders have clicked on phishing links, a new survey by Arctic Wolf has found. Despite this, 80% of these same professionals are confident their organization won’t fall victim to a phishing attack. The survey found that 34% of organizations send simulated phishing emails to their employees at least once every two weeks, but only 15% of end users are aware of them. Likewise, the IT and security leaders surveyed said 83% of their employees fall for the phishing simulations.