New data shows that while ransomware remains somewhat flat, massive increases in business email compromise and response-based email attacks were seen last quarter.
We’d all like to see this trend of attack growth break with some significant downturns. But, according to the latest Phishing Activity Trends Report, 3rd Quarter 2022 from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (better known as APWG), Q3 of this year most definitely wasn’t going to be our quarter.
Phishing attacks continue to rise in a steady fashion, quarter over quarter, demonstrating that this method of initial attack isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Other types of cyberattacks saw more significant gains last quarter:
- Wire transfer BEC attacks in Q3 increased by 59 percent compared to Q2
- Response-based email attacks grew a whopping 488% in Q3 2022 compared to Q2
- Advance fee fraud scams launched via email increased by 1,000% in Q3
In other words, email-based attacks are at their worst. It’s imperative that organizations see these attacks for what they really are – a sign that a phishing-based attack is an almost certainty, regardless of the sophistication of your layered security strategy. One aspect that should be addressed is the user’s role in a cyberattack; it’s all well and fine that your security solutions are designed to stop malicious emails from coming in. But when that one email makes it all the way to the inbox, it’s up to your user to be vigilant and see the email as being potentially malicious – something taught with continual Security Awareness Training.
