Everyone wants to impress their boss, which is exactly what scammers rely on nowadays to carry out sophisticated phishing attacks called CEO fraud. Examples of CEO fraud are becoming increasingly common, with attackers regularly sending out phishing emails to an organization's employees and impersonating the top executive. This often comes with a demand at the end of the day that must be...

As much as we can say that cyber security measures are advancing, we can say the same about cyber criminals and their strategies. In 2022, ransomware attacks occurred every 11 seconds on average, at a global annual cost to businesses and governments of $20 billion US. Costs are rising in part due to the growing ransoms demanded from victims. While estimates of the average ransomware payout in...

Did you know that gift card scams are among the most popular cyber threats? The same things that make gift cards popular with consumers—convenience and ease of use—also make them attractive to scammers as a vehicle for fraud. Gift cards, also known as gift certificates or vouchers, have topped the list of reported fraud payment methods every year since 2018, according to the Federal Trade...

During the annual eCommerce bonanza known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, shopping websites will be swarming with people who are mostly unaware of cyber threats that can leave personal data vulnerable. In 2021, Europe, Canada, and the United States saw a 50% spike in transactions during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday window from the previous week. With the imminent spike in online...

When it comes to cyber crime, hackers like to locate the most high-value targets, whether it’s a piece of infrastructure or an individual with access to privileged information, all while expending the least effort possible. In most examples of spear phishing attacks, a criminal will send out targeted attacks via email to multiple users. In these emails, the attacker will use high-pressure...

Spoofing refers to an attack where hackers use various ways to disguise their identity so that their victims think they are talking to their coworker, boss, or business. The methods used to achieve this are the typical phishing tropes such as fake websites, links, and social engineering. When spoofing is involved, it’s often more helpful to focus on detecting the facade rather than looking at the...

In early July, IT solutions provider and remote management solution provider Kaseya announced that it had fallen victim to a supply chain ransomware attack. During the attack, hackers leveraged a vulnerability in Kaseya’s VSA platform to encrypt the data of hundreds of downstream MSPs and their clients. The Kaseya ransomware outbreak is one of the latest high-profile ransomware attacks targeting...

During the last week of January 2021, cyber security provider TrendMicro shared a blog post highlighting an Office-365 phishing campaign that criminals have targeted executives within manufacturing, tech, real estate, government, and finance since May 2020. As part of the scam, fraudsters sent the victims fake emails with links to a phishing site, where they harvested their credentials to sell...

Discover security awareness trends and best practices for 2021 Your employees are your first line of defense against cyber security attacks. The strength of your security awareness program depends on every employee in your organization. As part of your organizational goals and plans for 2021, you need to prioritize building a cyber secure and aware culture. This requires an ongoing commitment...

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic saw enterprises across the globe rapidly adopt remote working to support social distancing and comply with quarantine restrictions implemented by national governments. Amid this chaos, many cyber criminals created new phishing scams and other online threats, leading to many high profile data breaches. One of the most alarming trends that emerged this...

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, and the Christmas holidays fast approaching, cyber criminals are working round the clock to create new scams, such as the shipping notification scam, to phish for private information and commit identity fraud. As many employees will be shopping online during working hours, cyber security leaders need to educate employees on phishing threats and teach...

How to Protect Against Ryuk Ransomware As countries worldwide struggle to come to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic, attackers have attempted to capitalize by launching a wave of ransomware attacks on hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. These attacks have taken place in locations ranging from New York, Nebraska, Ohio, Missouri, and Michigan, to Montreal, by using Ryuk ransomware. But what is...

Security awareness training for financial services and bank employees must be a top priority. While financial services institutions have long been prime targets for cybercriminals, as most attacks are financially motivated, the shift to remote work business models and operations has heightened cyber security risk levels. Recent data reinforces why financial services CISOs and security leaders need...

Since December 2019, there has been a coordinated campaign of phishing attempts targeting Office 365 users. Cyber criminals have sent spoofed email, gathering the login credentials and payment details of Microsoft accounts in over 62 countries. According to one report, despite a 42% reduction in phishing attempts in 2019, scams like this Microsoft Office 365 campaign remain a significant threat...

Less than a week ago, Twitter fell victim to a monumental security breach that saw hackers successfully orchestrate a social engineering attack and take over high-profile Twitter user accounts, including world-renowned companies like Apple and business magnates like Bill Gates and Elon Musk. The cybercriminals used that access to launch a bitcoin scam that generated over $120,000. The attack is...

Know how to identify and prevent a spoofing attack Spoofing attacks are the ultimate form of cybercriminal trickery and deception. Cybercriminals disguise themselves and rely on trust to steal confidential information, install ransomware, and commit other cybercrimes. Spoofing comes down to trust. Cybercriminals hide behind trusted people, domains, URLs, and the technical elements that make up a...