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54 % OF ALL
DETECTED PHISHING URLS IN 2021 WERE FROM
TOP-TARGETED BRANDS .
PENTEXT HAS ANNOUNCED
O its 2022 BrightCloud Threat Report , which outlines key data points and trends affecting small and large businesses worldwide , as well as individuals in the new hybrid , interconnected world . This year ’ s report provides in-depth analysis , market insights , trend data and predictions for what lies ahead as organisations move toward strengthening their cyber-resiliency posture in the face of ever-increasing cyberattacks and cyberwarfare . Some highlights include :
Phishing and impersonated companies
• 770 % overall phishing activity spike during May 2021
• January – April 2021 saw a mere 9 % of phishing activity
• 54 % of all detected phishing URLs in 2021 were from top-targeted brands : Apple , Facebook , YouTube , Microsoft , and Google
• eBay fell from being the number one impersonated brand in 2020 , dropping out of the top 10 completely in 2021 as pandemic-related shortages eased
Remote and hybrid work environments , along with rapidly shifting world affairs , continue to alter how we interact and present new security challenges that open lucrative avenues for bad actors . Last year , phishing attacks escalated across email , text and other communications platforms and new high-risk malicious URLs were found hiding behind proxy avoidance and anonymisers . Alternatively , while browserbased cryptojacking may have practically disappeared , cryptomining malware shifted into the mainstream as cybercriminals continue looking for ways to compromise data and personal information .
“ Businesses ’ ability to prepare for and recover from threats will increase as they integrate cyber-resilience into their technologies , processes and people ,” said Mark J . Barrenechea , OpenText CEO and CTO . “ With security risks escalating worldwide and a persistent state of ‘ unprecedented ’ threats , compromises are inevitable . This year ’ s findings reiterate the need for organisations to deploy strong multi-layered security defences to help them remain at the heart of cyber resilience and circumvent even the most creative cybercriminals .”
Every month , we pose industry experts a question pertinent to the issues of the day . This month . . . .
Infection Rates by Region
• Japan , the UK , North America and Australia saw infection rates drop by 51 % since the year prior
• The US held the largest number of malicious IP addresses and convictions ( 24.3 %)
The Netherlands had the highest number of convictions per bad IP address ( average : 526 ), meaning that each malicious IP address in the Netherlands performed more malicious activity on average than the average malicious IP address in other countries .
WHAT BEST PRACTICE APPROACH SHOULD SMES TAKE TO EMAIL SECURITY ?
“ Cyber-resiliency is a top proactive priority for organisations worldwide ,” said Craig Robinson , IDC Program Director , Security Services . “ Better understanding the known threats will play a key role in building and maintaining a strong layered security approach .”
Tackling this , Intelligent SME . tech spoke to three leading experts about the best practice approach SMEs can take to email security . . .
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Intelligent SME . tech