Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Hybrid Phishing Attacks Using Callback Method Increase by 625% Since Q1 2021

Phishing attacks have been commonplace for decades, but in spite of the fact that this is the case malicious actors have managed to continue updating them to make them difficult to mitigate. A new report by Agari just revealed a massive 625% increase in a specific type of phishing attack, namely one that involves social engineering and callbacks with all things having been considered and taken into account.

According to this report, the total number of phishing attacks have only increased by 6% in the same time period. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that hybrid phishing attacks known as “vishing” have seen a much more astonishing increase of about 625%. These attacks are usually initiated with an email, after which the victim receives a voice call that tries to use social engineering to get them to click on the link and put in their log-in details because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to steal said information.

Scammers present a problem with an invoice or some other kind of payment in the phishing email, and they provide a number for victims to get in touch with an ostensible customer service representative who can provide them with some assistance. Receiving the call allows malicious actors to obtain backdoor access to devices, so this is clearly a type of phishing attack that can do tremendous harm if steps are not taken to reduce its presence in various sectors.

Hybrid phishing attacks now comprise nearly 1 out of every 4 threats that are reported, or 24.6% to be precise. The staggering growth rate of these attacks indicates that malicious actors are doubling down on them, and we might see an even more dangerous increase in the coming year. These types of phishing attacks were first noted in March of 2021, and in the 15 or so months since they were first noticed they have been increasing far more than regular phishing attacks and other types of cyber attacks online.



Read next: What Do People Really Search For Online And Why? New Survey Highlights Top Ten Secret Search Topics
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

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