In this post, we’ll briefly explain what a DMARC policy is, how to set up your DMARC email record, what the three types of DMARC policies are and when to implement each one, and how to diagnose and fix any issues associated with it. Basically, your DMARC policy tells email receivers what to do with illegitimate or possibly fraudulent emails—whether to reject, quarantine, or accept them. Overall,...

In Q3, Credit Unions nearly overtook National Banks as the top targeted industry on the Dark Web, according to recent data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. Credit Unions have been increasingly targeted on underground channels, with Q3 2022 representing the highest incident count for the industry in four consecutive quarters. Compromised data associated with Financial Institutions as a whole is...

In Q3, Redline Stealer represented nearly half of all malware attacks targeting corporate user inboxes. This is the first quarter Redline has led payload volume since PhishLabs began reporting on malware activity. Email payloads remain the primary delivery method of ransomware targeting organizations. PhishLabs continuously monitors payload families reported in corporate inboxes to help mitigate...

Nearly half of stolen data on the Dark Web was marketed through Chat-Based Services in Q2 after a sharp increase in illegal transactions, according to the Agari and PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. The advertisement and exchange of stolen information on the Dark Web is volatile due to the constant threat of disruption or seizure by authorities. Often, when one site is...

Cyber attacks targeting retail brands have increased dramatically over the last year. Since Q3 2021, retail has experienced a nearly 500% increase in attacks on social media alone. Counterfeit websites and look-alike domains are also among the top threats to online retailers. Attackers incorporate stolen designs and trademarks to stand up counterfeit sites, outbid legitimate businesses with...

In Q1, the exchange of sensitive data on Carding Marketplaces and Forums increased as government seizure of multiple Dark Web sites prompted a shift in where actors conduct illegal activities, according to the Agari and PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. These sites specialize in the trafficking of stolen credentials and data such as usernames, passwords, banking, and...

In Q1, more than 51% of phishing sites abused paid services, according to the Agari and PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. This is the first time in five consecutive quarters where the majority of phishing sites were staged using Paid Domain Registrations or Compromised Sites. Phishing volume as a whole continues to increase in 2022 in comparison to the same time period last...

Vishing attacks have increased almost 550 percent over the last twelve months, according to Agari and PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. The May report uses hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media threats analyzed and mitigated by Agari and PhishLabs, both of which are part of the Fortra cybersecurity portfolio. By identifying and mitigating attacks targeting...

PhishLabs has identified a Browser-in-the-Browser (BitB) campaign targeting financial institutions with a fake Office 365 (O365) authorization protocol. The attack is delivered via phishing email and redirects the victim to a website impersonating an O365 single sign-on (SSO) page. A BitB attack is a novel phishing technique that replicates pop-up windows used for SSO in an effort to steal login...

Qbot payloads targeting enterprises contributed to almost three quarters of all email-based malware since the beginning of 2022. Although reported malware activity among families continues to fluctuate dramatically from quarter to quarter, QBot reports in Q1 represent the highest volume of a single malware variety over the past 12 months. Phishing lures delivering payloads remain the primary...

Courtesy of Agari by Fortra. You probably already know this, but it bears repeating: Email by itself is NOT secure; anyone can use someone else’s identity to send emails. In fact, email is the #1 way cyberattackers can target your customers and your email ecosystem. No brand is untouchable when it comes to attackers using or spoofing email domains to send spam, phishing attempts, malware, or...

Hybrid Vishing attacks have increased 554% in volume, according to PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Response-Based attacks such as these, combined with Credential Theft and Malware Delivery, collectively represent the top online attack vector targeting corporate users. Every quarter, PhishLabs analyzes hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks targeting...

In Q3, more than 75% of threats observed on the Dark Web were related to stolen credit card and debit card data, according to PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. While there are significant volumes of malicious activity targeting industries on the Dark Web, the extensive nature of credit card fraud makes this threat type the most pervasive. Every quarter, PhishLabs analyzes...

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...

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...

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,...