Q1 2022 Report about All-Time High Phishing Attacks

Cyber security experts have witnessed an incredible rise in phishing scams this year. Let’s try to figure out how they work and what measures can help individuals and businesses avoid serious trouble.

How Phishing Attacks Work

What Is Phishing?

Phishing is among the most widespread and harmful cybercrime anyone should be aware of to ensure safer digital activities. Phishing attacks presume some sort of interaction between a victim and a cybercriminal who pretends to be a reputable source. 

Dangers of Phishing Scams

Phishing scammers aim at some sort of gain. It highly depends on their strategy. In most cases, there are two ways hackers act - to get the victim's credentials and other sensitive data or to secretly install malware onto a victim’s device.

The endpoint of some phishing cases is financial gain, i.e., once a scammer gets their victim’s sensitive data to access their bank account or another platform, the scam finishes with stealing assets. Other, more complicated cases include phishing as a step to get to high-profile targets. Then there is much more at stake.  

Cure Against Phishing

When you read about phishing, you may wait for a perfect tool to easily become immune to phishing scams. Unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed in this respect if you want an instant cure or a miracle tool.

There are tools to reduce phishing attacks. Some of them function without you knowing, such as spam filters in your email provider or some warnings when you go to suspicious websites or resources. They are basic measures and can’t protect you against phishing attacks, but they can guarantee that you’re attacked less frequently.

The most effective way to protect yourselves against phishing is by thorough education. Every individual, every member of a company (no matter how important their role is), every third party involved is to learn what phishing is, how it works, cyber hygiene basics, and particular measures on how not to become a phishing victim and not to be caught.  Cyber awareness of every business chain link is the primary key to successful fighting against phishing scams.

Phishing Scams Skyrocketing in 2022

It may seem a paradox that phishing is still a fruitful tool in hackers’ arsenal. First, its general idea is relatively simple. Secondly, there is so much information and various resources to equip users with the necessary knowledge and forget about phishing for good. Unfortunately, reports show that we’re a way far from saying goodbye to phishing scams.

Q1 2022 cyber security reports inform about all-time high phishing attacks. Email phishing - the classics - has increased but so did other types of phishing scams:

• social media scams with impersonation as the main tool, targeting financial institutions;
• credit card or corporate credentials fraud stealing as a result of a leak to the dark web;
• vishing, or voice phishing.

Phishing Trends

All investigators report significant tech and tactical sophistication. Malicious actors use all possible approaches to win their victims’ trust. Also, there is a factual statement that businesses are more widespread targets than mere individuals. 

While there is a strong belief that phishing is only about emails with links, hackers actually utilize tons of platforms as well as a wide range of malicious methods to defraud individuals and corporations.

One more fact that may seem interesting is that the recent statistics on phishing attacks show that the most “productive” days are Monday to Wednesday.

What to Do: Measures against Phishing Attacks

Look at the checklist of necessary precautions and practices that can help protect your business against phishing and its negative consequences. We recommend using them as a complex.

• Use proper email filters.
• Set up up-to-date security protocols.
• Control access, authority, and influence of every member of your network.
• Upgrade cyber security architecture.
• Conduct regular cyber security awareness training with proper assessment.
• Reach out to reputable cyber security experts like MBS Tech periodically.

The combination of modern technologies, education, and qualified experts’ assistance will have your business covered.