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Social Media Attacks Focus on Financials, Executives in Q4

In Q4, impersonation threats made up more than 45% of total attacks on social media, with the vast majority targeting banking and financial services. Impersonation on social media continues to grow, with threats specifically targeting corporate executives responsible for driving the majority of volume for three consecutive quarters. The average number of social media attacks per business has...
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What is a DMARC Policy?: The 3 Types, Which to Implement & Other Requirements

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...
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O365 Volume Up in Q4 as Cybercriminals Target Brands in Credential Theft Attacks

The majority of malicious emails reported in user inboxes contained a link to a phishing site, making credential theft emails the attack method of choice for cybercriminals in Q4. Credential theft made up nearly 60% of all reported incidents, with more than half of the volume attributed to O365 attacks. Despite the threat actor preference toward this threat type, credential theft attacks declined...
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Phishing-as-a-Service Profile: LabHost Threat Actor Group

Fortra is monitoring malicious activity targeting Canadian banks conducted by Phishing-as-a-Service group LabHost. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Fortra has observed phishing attacks connected with Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) groups grow as threat actors use the tools provided through membership services to launch a variety of campaigns. The providers of these platforms boast features such as access...
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Record Number of Phishing Sites Impersonate Social Media to Target Victims in Q4

Phishing sites impersonated the social media industry more than any other in Q2, Q3, and Q4 of 2023. In Q4 alone, social media phish leapt nearly 20%, reaching the highest volume of abuse (over 67%) since Fortra has reported on this data point. Every quarter, Fortra’s PhishLabs examines hundreds of thousands of phishing attacks targeting enterprises and their brands. In this post, we break down...
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How Threat Actors will Leverage Domain Impersonation in 2024

Historically, the average brand is targeted by 40 look-alike domains per month. Look-alikes are a strategic component of malicious lures and websites and used in a variety of spaces including social platforms, text messages, the open web, and email. An attack that incorporates a look-alike domain can mean the difference between a convincing campaign and a suspicious one, with a versatility that...
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QR Codes That Don't Bode Well - The Harm That Quishing Attacks Can Do

Most organisations have security controls in place to inspect URLs in emails to prevent the risk of credential phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. However, threat adversaries have pivoted their tactics to bypass security stacks. And clicking these types of attacks often leads to account takeover. In fact, data from Fortra’s PhishLabs in Q2 2023 reported more than three-quarters...
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Cybercriminal Focus in the New Year – Top 2024 Threat Trends

Criminals are constantly innovating ways to enhance deliverability and increase the success of their campaigns. Email phishing remains one of the most significant threats to organizations, but a growing number of campaigns are first touching victims via non-traditional lures or through engagement on platforms where users are more susceptible to scams. Understanding how online threats are evolving...
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Getting the Board on Board: Explaining Cybersecurity ROI

In this Tripwire guest blog, we break down how to best communicate the significance of a cybersecurity investment. Despite increasing data breaches, ransomware attacks, and assorted cyber threats, convincing the Board of Directors to invest in robust cybersecurity isn't always easy for many businesses. The challenge originates mainly from the need to demonstrate a quantifiable Return On Investment...
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Dark Web Threats Targeting the Airline Industry

The allure of airline status and points, along with the abundance of personally identifiable information (PII) of customers and employees, make the airline industry a prime target for threat actors on the dark web. Depending on the goal of the actor and the nature of the stolen data, criminals can find airline-specific materials for sale on a variety of markets. Nick Oram, security operations...
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The Email Security Gaps in Your Cloud

According to Gartner, Microsoft lacks the ability to detect and eradicate 20% of the advanced email threats. Email security expert, Ravisha Chugh, shares why current cloud email security solutions are insufficient against advanced email threats, and why she's excited to be a part of Fortra's Cloud Email Protection.
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Brand Threats Masterclass: Experts Reveal Top Attacks and Defense Tactics

There is little doubt that AI-fueled impersonation campaigns and novel attacks via non-traditional channels have emerged as a primary concern for security teams. Brand impersonation is on the rise, with nearly 40 look-alike domains targeting brands each month. On social media, impersonation attacks account for almost half of all threatening content. And online counterfeit campaigns are...
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Google and Yahoo Take Stance on Email Authentication

Google's and Yahoo's email authentication requirements are rapidly approaching. At Fortra, we commend this push to require email authentication as a huge step in the ongoing fight against spoofing and abuse. Find out what the requirements are and how Fortra can help you through the email authentication journey.
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How Organizations Can Use Dark Web Intelligence

The scope of intelligence on underground marketplaces is vast and navigating the dark web in search of brand mentions and potential threats can be time-consuming and complex. In order to proactively defend against attacks and mitigate the threat of leaked information, organizations should consistently monitor marketplaces and forums for data pertaining to their brand. If questionable data is...
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Q3 Payload Report

QBot, the leading payload family in Q3, was disrupted as part of a coordinated, multinational operation led by the FBI on August 29, 2023. This resulted in the removal of 700,000 QBot payloads from infected devices across the globe, and interrupted the activity of one of the most active malware families since the former juggernaut Emotet, which was disrupted in 2021. While QBot led all other...
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Threat Actor Profile: Strox Phishing-as-a-Service

Threat Background & History Beginning in the first half of 2022, Fortra has monitored a significant ongoing upward trend in fraud activity originating from various Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) operations. Some of these services have thrived, while the popularity of others has diminished. One PhaaS operation that has notably been present throughout the past two years is known as Strox (aka Strox...
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Reduce Ransomware Risk And Detect Data Leaks

Ransomware Risk Has Never Been Greater Ransomware gangs are strategically targeting enterprises, disabling critical systems, and demanding record ransom amounts. They are also stealing confidential data and threatening to leak company secrets unless victims pay up. With Fortra's Agari, enterprises can disrupt these attacks before they start and proactively monitor for ransomware data leaks. Stop...