New research from US-based
cyber security company FireEye, which analysed 1.3 billion phishing emails in
Q1 2019, has found three big emerging trends.
Cyber criminals are increasingly using impersonation in phishing attacks, with
the rate up 17% from Q4 2018, primarily by imitating well-known brands.
Microsoft spoofs accounted for almost a third of the Q1 attacks, plus OneDrive,
PayPal, Apple, and Amazon were impersonated. Cyber crims also impersonate CEOs
and other senior corporate officers to request changes to bank account
information.
A second trend is using HTTPS (hypertext transfer protocol secure) for
malicious phishing sites, which jumped 26% in Q1 2019. HTTPS can give a false
sense of security, because there’s a misconception the protocol is only
identified with legitimate, safe sites.
A third trend is hosting malicious files on trusted, cloud-based, file-sharing
sites, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. That means links don’t look
suspicious and can get through email filters.
Gerry Power, National Head of Sales at award-winning Emergence Insurance, says
social engineering advice is one of the most frequent requests from brokers
seeking information for their clients.
Socially engineered theft or ‘hacking the human’ is a trending exposure in
Australia and globally today. Most breaches are caused by employees opening
phishing emails that have already made it through existing technology defences.
It can take hundreds of days to find out you’ve been compromised. Clicking on
one phishing email can enable a criminal to infiltrate a company’s system,
escalate their access and privileges, and steal the company’s crown jewels,
clean out the bank accounts, or develop fake invoices.
Gerry says many people think they’re adept at spotting scams, but the task is
getting harder as cyber criminals broaden their reach and methodologies.
Organisations need better training and education and heightened awareness to
get a step ahead. They also need insurance as a last line of defence.
Katherine (08) 7919 7019
2/46 Chardon St