Phishing is a continuous threat to cybersecurity, with individuals, businesses, and organizations all over the world being targeted. A recent survey of more than 420 businesses revealed that as many as one in four businesses suffered from a phishing attack and/or an email breach. A distressing ratio for any business owner.
In the past few years, we’ve witnessed an overwhelming change in the way we conduct our professional lives. Many professionals are now leaning on cloud environments as a result.
For your anti-phishing methods to be truly effective, it’s essential to understand the current cybersecurity trends as well as invest in quality anti-phishing software.
What are the latest trends you must know? How can you and your employees avoid swallowing the hook? Let’s find out.
Phishing Trends in 2022
Phishing is becoming more expensive.
When it comes to costs, phishing is no joke.
Even an unsuccessful phishing attack can set back companies a fortune from year to year. If just one of the phishing attacks created by cybercriminals proves fruitful, it can spell disaster in terms of expenses.
We’ve seen a staggering increase in email volume, which dates back to March 2020, with the aftereffects of the pandemic forcing people to work from home. Statista claims that 306.4 billion daily emails were sent and received in 2020, with this number expected to grow to a tremendous 376.4 billion by 2025.
And the more phishing emails that land in your inbox, the higher your chances of taking the bait.
Ransomware is still the preferred form of phishing.
What is ransomware? Basically, this is a kind of malware that encrypts your personal or company files. It renders them useless unless you fork out a sum of money and hand it over to the cybercriminals that hold it for ransom.
Hackers get their hands on your sensitive data by sending an email with either a malicious link, attachment, or another type of social engineering method. Large enterprises are often the preferred target.
However, the tide is turning, with small businesses now taking the brunt of these attacks. Why? Because the lack of IT professionals and cybersecurity resources leaves the door wide open for a timely ransomware attack.
In 2022, we predict that hackers will develop ransomware further, making detection more difficult. These tactics are constantly changing and evolving. The only way you can truly remain safe is by relying on multilayer anti-phishing software that will not only block sophisticated threats but is built specifically with cloud email in mind.
Remote work still poses a threat.
One of the biggest challenges of working from home is training employees to be aware of the ongoing cybersecurity threats that are looming.
For remote professionals, email messaging is still a primary form of communication. This includes sending and receiving links and sensitive information within documents, which allow for an increased possibility of phishing attacks.
Anticipating the risks and relying on a multi-layered defense is crucial.
Impersonation fraud is on the rise.
One of the biggest phishing trends on the rise is CEO fraud.
Cybercriminals take full advantage of employees that depend heavily on email communication. They do this by posing as the company’s CEO or other managing executives. They generally send out emails targeting professionals working in HR or finance, asking for a bank transfer.
Recently, a bank manager in the United Arab Emirates was a victim of this type of scam, where hackers used AI voice cloning. This resulted in the bank manager transferring $35 million, according to Forbes.
How do they do this? With popular platforms such as LinkedIn and other social media channels, it’s simple to find out who is who within any organization, particularly if employees are active and showing what they’ve been up to professionally.
But it’s not just bank transfers they’re after. Posing as a CEO or company figurehead, malicious actors fish for sensitive information that can be used to disrupt a business in a matter of minutes.
Zero-day attacks are growing.
As reported by the MIT Technology Review, a zero-day attack, which is a way to launch a digital attack from a previously unknown vulnerability, is probably the most valuable thing a cybercriminal can possess.
That is because these exploits can be worth as much as $1 million on the open market. It happens when an attacker is able to exploit a defect in either the software or hardware prior to it being recognized or mitigated by the manufacturer.
The number of exposed zero-day attacks almost doubled from 2020 to 2021, a record-breaking number. This is a trend that will likely continue this year.
SEGs are becoming unreliable forms of security.
Secure Email Gateways are software packages or devices designed to prevent unwanted emails from being sent or received. This includes phishing attacks, spam, malware, and fraudulent content.
While some businesses rely solely on SEGs for their email security, the past few years have proven that this protection method is becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks.
Hackers use a variety of methods. They constantly refine to get their malicious emails through to inboxes and bypass security email gateways in their wake.
Protecting Your Inbox
Cybercrime is a constant battle. As long as threat actors find it lucrative to deliver malicious emails into your inbox, they will continue to think up new ways of doing so.
Controlling the risk factor is something that individuals and businesses alike must consider when safeguarding their privacy and success.
Businesses that wish to achieve significant growth in 2022 need to make smart choices. They must understand that decreasing the chances of a costly phishing attack is one of the best ways to do that.
Anti-phishing software protects you from ransomware, zero-day threats, spear-phishing, standard credential harvesting, and other horrors. The bonus is that it fits in with your IT budget, no matter the size of your business.
Catching advanced attacks using true artificial intelligence promotes a powerful cybersecurity strategy.
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