Phishing on email reigns supreme, COMODO report confirms.
According to the Global Threat Report Q3 2018 by Comodo Cybersecurity, email tops as a means of malware delivery. The report gives comprehensive insights into the global state of cybersecurity as per December 2018 and gives us a headstart on areas to focus in 2019.
What is phishing?
Phishing is commonly defined as the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy entity in electronic communication. This happens by attempting to intentionally direct users to enter personal information mostly on a fake website. Often happens via email spoofing -Where attacks forge an email header so that the message appears from someone other than the actual source – enticing you to open an email thinking it has been sent by a legit source.
The report indicates that 76% of organizations report experiencing phishing attacks in 2017 (Wombat), with users receiving 16-20 malicious emails every month. Here is an illustration from the data processed by Comodo analysts to help us understand the ratio of malicious emails as received by users.
Why email?
Email is the most affordable and convenient means of phishing and spoofing attempts. All you have to do is open that malicious email you’ve received. Conveniently, the emails are quite believable you might end up taking the bait. The Global Threat Q3 report extensively shares common email attempts that have in the past been used. I kid you not, you’re likely to fall, victim, unless you become vigilant. Some phishing attempts have malicious attachments where the attached malware masquerades as a .pdf file while others are phishing URLs. It’s inevitable for users to take all security measures available.
Microsoft, PayPal and Google were the top brands targeted by phishing attacks. Some of the top phishing email ranked by subject were:
“Your account will be locked.” -40% (via URL) Paypal
“DHL on-demand delivery.” -6%(via URL) DHL
“Important: Please login to your account PayPal to verify your info.” -4% (via URL) PayPal
“INFO”- 10%(Attachment) FEDEX
“August Azure Newsletter” -8%(Attachment) Azure Microsoft
As we make all efforts to become vigilant, attackers are becoming smarter and more cunning. We recommend that you go through the report to familiarize yourself with the most unexpected and very creative phishing attempts recently used so that you are aware of what to look out for.
If you have a moment, why don’t you grab the Global Threat Report Q3 2018 by Comodo Cybersecurity and read through this very helpful insights? In the meantime, don’t take a risk, get a COMODO Essential SSL certificate from us for 2250+VAT or COMODO Essential Wildcard for 10,000+VAT
