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Attacks Targeting Businesses on Social Media Jump 40% YoY

In Q3, the volume of social media attacks targeting the average business was 40.4% higher than the same time last year, according to the latest data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. Social media attack volume has grown significantly year-over-year with the average business in 2022 experiencing 84.5 malicious incidents per month versus 50.59 in 2021. Fortra analyzes hundreds of thousands of social media...
Blog

Social Media Mitigation Best Practices for All Financial Institutions

The financial industry continues to experience the largest volume of abuse among all industries on social media. In Q3 banks, credit unions, and other F.I.’s contributed to nearly three-quarters of all attacks on social platforms, with national banks alone more than tripling the volume of the top targeted non-financial, retail. The top threats to financial institutions on social media consist of...
Blog

Chat-Based Services, Finance, Heavily Abused on the Dark Web in Q2

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...
On-Demand Webinar

Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Webinar (August 2022)

John Wilson, Senior Fellow for Threat Research at Agari by Fortra Throughout Q2, Agari and PhishLabs detected and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing, social media, email, and dark web threats targeting a broad range of enterprises and brands. The Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report provides an analysis of the latest findings and insights into key trends shaping the threat...
Blog

Fraud, Impersonation Fuel Q2 Increase in Social Media Attacks

In Q2, malicious attacks targeting organizations on social media have increased more than 20% over Q1, according to the latest Agari and PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Agari and PhishLabs analyze hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks every quarter to identify the top threats targeting enterprises, their brands, and their employees. In this post, we...
Blog

Dark Web Disruptions in Q1 Trigger Shift in Illicit Exchanges

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...
Blog

Social Media Attacks Targeting Businesses Increase 105%

Social media attacks targeting enterprises have increased 105% from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, according to Agari and PhishLabs’ latest Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Social media threat volume has consistently climbed quarter over quarter, as threat actors increasingly use social platforms to target business via fake pages, messaging, and advertisements. Every quarter, Agari and...
Blog

Dramatic Increase Detected in Impersonation Attacks on Social Media

Impersonations of brands and executives on social media have grown more than 300% and 250% year-over-year, respectively, according to the Agari and PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. This highlights the overall increase in social media activity and ease of accessibility for bad actors to repurpose stolen trademarks and intellectual property (IP) for a variety of malicious...
On-Demand Webinar

Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Webinar (May 2022)

Throughout Q1, Agari and PhishLabs detected and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing, social media, email, and dark web threats targeting a broad range of enterprises and brands. The Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report provides an analysis of the latest findings and insights into key trends shaping the threat landscape. Join our Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence webinar...
Blog

Social Media as a Threat Channel

Social media offers an important outline for people of all ages and walks of life to connect, share life experiences and post pictures of their breakfast. But oversharing - or not being wary of impostors - can lead to serious compromises in personal and professional security. In a press release on the report's findings, Phishlabs “enterprises must broaden their line of defense [in 2022,]...
Blog

Average Organization Sees Two-Fold Increase in Social Media Attacks in 2021

Social Media attacks targeting enterprises increased 103% in 2021, according to PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Social Media is rapidly becoming the threat channel of choice for criminals. The rapid expansion of consumer/business relationships through social platforms, coupled with less refined and controllable online security measures, makes social media a prime target...
Blog

Top Social Media Threats Targeting the Retail Industry

Social media threats targeting enterprises more than doubled last year. Attacks on the retail industry specifically have grown, as threat actors are targeting victims with impersonation and counterfeit ad campaigns. Purchasing behavior is increasingly influenced by social media, making it an attractive vector for these kinds of campaigns. The tendency of social media users to consume information...
On-Demand Webinar

Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Webinar (Feb 2022)

Throughout 2021, PhishLabs detected and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing, social media, email, and dark web threats targeting a broad range of enterprises and brands. The PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report provides an analysis of the latest findings and insights into key trends shaping the threat landscape. Join our Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence webinar...
Blog

Social Media Attacks Double in 2021 According to Latest PhishLabs Report

Social Media attacks targeting organizations increased 103% in 2021, according to PhishLabs’ Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. The February 2022 report uses hundreds of thousands of threats analyzed and mitigated by PhishLabs to identify the top phishing and social media attacks targeting enterprises, employees, and their brands, as well as determine emerging trends throughout the threat...
Blog

Stolen Card Data Leads Dark Web Threats

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...
Blog

Social Media Attacks Increase 82%

Attacks targeting enterprises on Social Media have increased 82% since January, according to PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Threat actors are increasingly abusing Social Media to launch attacks, as lack of security vigilance among users and critical brand presence among organizations makes platforms a desirable way to engage in malicious activity and spoof legitimate...
Blog

Initial Access Brokers: Selling Entry into Your Network

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...
Blog

Social Media Attacks Increase 47%

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...
Blog

3 Strategies to Enhance Brand Threat Intelligence

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...
Blog

OSINT: How Usernames Unlock Investigations

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,...