Ransomware continues to grow as a thriving underground economy with limited risk and little barrier to entry. Ransomware attacks are supported by a robust ecosystem of dark web services, where many of the tasks needed to carry out an attack can be outsourced. These tasks are increasingly available and sold by threat actors who specialize in them. In this post, we take a look at Initial Access...

Vishing attacks have more than doubled for the second consecutive quarter, according to the PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. The November 2021 report uses hundreds of thousands of attacks analyzed and mitigated by PhishLabs to identify the top threats targeting brands and determine emerging trends throughout the threat landscape. Key Findings of the Quarterly Threat Trends...

Multi-stage vishing attacks have more than doubled since Q2, overtaking BEC attacks as the second most reported response-based threat. These two-pronged attacks differ from conventional vishing by combining malicious emails and phone calls to trick victims into disclosing sensitive information. Emails associated with these campaigns are particularly adept at getting past attack controls because...

Malware delivered via email continues to be the primary source of damaging ransomware attacks targeting businesses and their brands. The malware threat landscape has been tumultuous over the course of 2021, with unskilled actors enjoying a lower barrier to entry through as-a-service models, allowing easy access to proven and sophisticated malicious software. These tools are in a constant state of...

Cloned and spoofed mobile applications can damage a brand’s reputation and compromise user data. Fake mobile apps are widely available on both third-party and official app stores and rely heavily on brand impersonation to build trust and drive downloads. Many mobile users lack the security posture normally practiced on desktops, leaving devices vulnerable to compromise. Fake Apps Cloned Mobile...

Financial institutions have experienced a 15.3% increase in share in phishing attacks, according to PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. This increase establishes financial services as the top targeted industry and shows threat actors continue to place high value on compromised banking credentials. In this post, we take a look at the tools and infrastructure used by threat...

Phishing volume continues to outpace 2020 by 22%, according to PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Every quarter, PhishLabs analyzes hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks targeting enterprises to identify key trends in the threat landscape. In this piece we take a look at phishing volume, industries targeted, and how attacks are being staged. 2021...

Domains are some of the most highly abused tools threat actors use to manipulate victims and execute phishing attacks. In the latest PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence report, we break down how actors are abusing Legacy Generic (gTLD) and Country Code (ccTLD) Top-level domains, HTTPS, and free security certificates to target enterprises. Top-level Domain Abuse Percent of Phish...

Social media threats targeting enterprises have increased 47% since January 2021, according to PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. While the attack volume varies by industry, today the average organization is being targeted on social media with increasing frequency. Every quarter, PhishLabs analyzes and mitigates hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks...

Every quarter, PhishLabs analyzes and mitigates hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks targeting enterprises. In this post, we discuss the top threats reaching corporate inboxes based on incidents detected and mitigated with our Suspicious Email Analysis solution. Reported Threats in Corporate Inboxes Credential Theft Credential theft continues to represent the largest...

Brand threats have accounted for 68% of fraud attacks so far this year. Contrary to traditional cyber attacks, which are designed to compromise the infrastructure or circumvent controls, brand threats live outside of the organization’s control and compromise the reputation of your brand. Common types of brand misrepresentation include spoofed emails, social media scams, and fake mobile apps. The...

Phishing volume in 2021 continues to outpace last year by 22%, according to PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. The August 2021 report uses data from hundreds of thousands of attacks analyzed and mitigated by PhishLabs to identify the most recent top threats targeting brands and determine emerging trends throughout the threat landscape. Key Findings of the Quarterly Threat...

One piece of evidence that adds value to investigating social media threats is the threat actor’s chosen username. Usernames can hold meaning to the individual, and as a result provide useful information when expanding investigations to different social platforms. As we covered in our last OSINT post, connecting all known social media accounts to one user is a critical step in determining risk,...

Threat actors improve the resiliency of phishing campaigns by concealing malicious content from security teams. Avoiding detection increases an attacker’s odds of reaching more victims and achieving a more lucrative outcome. There are many types of evasion techniques that can be used individually or in tandem. In this post we discuss active evasion, restricting by interaction. Restricting by...

Cybercriminals use evasion techniques to bypass scanning technologies and defeat human analysis in order to extend the life of phishing campaigns. There are a variety of evasion techniques and criminals often use multiple variations in tandem. In this post, we focus on active evasion, restricting non-targets by device. Restricting by Device Active evasion is any method an attacker uses to...

In Q2, ransomware made headlines with multiple high-profile attacks and tactics. The largest infrastructure shutdown in U.S. history brought the East Coast to a halt, operators doubled up on ransomware strains, and reported attacks are on track to beat 2020, with numbers already surpassing Q1 by 38%. As ransomware continues to drive data loss and fraud for enterprises and their brands, PhishLabs...

Evasion techniques are methods attackers deploy to extend the life of phishing campaigns. The longer a threat is active, the more opportunity it has to claim victims. Attackers have two objectives when applying evasion techniques: Defeat automated scanning technologies designed to quickly shut down or prevent attacks from going live. Increase the time, cost, and complexity required for...

Cybercriminals continue to heavily abuse domains to launch phishing attacks. PhishLabs’ analysis of Q1 phishing attacks has found that: 96% used Legacy Generic (gTLD) or Country Code (ccTLD) Top-level Domains Almost 83% abused HTTPS Domain Validated (DV) Certificates were used 94.5% of the time For this analysis, PhishLabs looked at three categories of TLDs: Legacy gTLDs, ccTLDs,...

In Q1, PhishLabs analyzed hundreds of thousands of phishing attacks and found more than 62% abused legitimate no-cost tools or services. >> Access the Report In this post, we take a look at findings from our Q1 Threat Trends and Intelligence Report and review the free services that were most commonly abused to stage phishing sites. Methods of Staging Phishing Sites ...

In Q1, PhishLabs analyzed and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing attacks that targeted corporate users. In this post, we break down these attacks and shed light on the phishing emails that are making it into corporate inboxes. Threats Found in Corporate Inboxes Credential Theft Credential theft attacks continue to be the most prolific threats observed in corporate inboxes....