Email phishing remains the most common method of attack finds Comodo Cybersecurity in its Global Threat report 2018,Q3.The report states that Phishing represents one of every 100 emails received by enterprises. Microsoft, PayPal and Google are the top three brands most targeted by phishing.
In its Global threat report 2018,Q3 Comodo finds that brands targeted by phishing attack in the quarter went to Microsoft (19%), PayPal (17%) and Google (9.7%).The top three phishing emails ranked by subject line are “Your account will be locked” received by PayPal (40%),“Info” FedEx (10%) and “August Azure Newsletter” appeared in 8% of phishing emails received by Microsoft.
Researchers cited one phishing email as representative of the uptick in quality, making it harder for users to identify the risk. An email purporting to be a survey regarding Microsoft Azure’s newsletter sported an authentic looking URL and logo, and did not have the telltale grammar or spelling errors that often give away phishing emails. Anyone clicking on the “Take the survey” button was sent to a malware-laden webpage to covertly infect them, except for Comodo Cybersecurity clients who were protected from day zero. The survey cited that malicious attachment remains top method of infection with 60% and phishing URLs gaining popularity around 40%.
The report also revealed disturbing upticks in malware deployment leading up to major national elections and compelling correlations of malware detection leading up to and immediately following geopolitical crises.
“These correlations clearly stand out in the data, beyond the realm of coincidence,” said VP of Comodo Cybersecurity Threat Research Labs, Fatih Orhan. “It is inescapable that state actors today employ malware and other cyberthreats as both extensions of soft power and outright military weapons, as do their lesser-resourced adversaries in asymmetric response.”
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