Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

The cybercrime world took a major hit this month with the RaccoonO365 domain takedown, a coordinated move by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) and Cloudflare. By seizing 338 malicious domains, investigators disrupted a sprawling phishing-as-a-service ( PhaaS) network that had stolen more than 5,000 Microsoft 365 credentials across 94 countries. This action signals a shift toward large-scale, proactive disruption of phishing operations that exploit everyday users and global enterprises alike.

AI-powered social engineering attacks are significantly more successful than traditional attacks, according to a new report from cyber risk management firm Resilience. The researchers state, “Social engineering attacks fueled 88% of material losses, with AI-powered phishing achieving a 54% success rate compared to just 12% for traditional attempts.” AI allows attackers to easily craft sophisticated phishing emails, as well as voice and video deepfakes.

Attackers are abusing iCloud Calendar invites to send phishing messages that pose as PayPal notifications, BleepingComputer reports. Since the messages are sent from Apple’s infrastructure, they’re more likely to bypass security filters. BleepingComputer explains, “This email is actually an iCloud Calendar invite, where the threat actor included the phishing text within the Notes field and then invited a Microsoft 365 email address that they controlled.

Phishing threats remain one of the most common and effective attack methods. Research shows it contributes to over 34% of confirmed breaches. The financial impact is significant as well, with credential-related breaches averaging $4.76 million per incident. And despite years of security awareness training, nearly a third of employees still click on simulated phishing emails. Why does phishing work so well? Attackers exploit gaps in visibility, speed, and user behavior.

AI is unlocking new ways to work across industries. Nearly four in five CEOs are implementing or likely to implement generative AI to speed up innovation across their companies, and workers at every level are using GenAI to improve or expand their processes. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones embracing the power of AI. WormGPT was one of the best-known early examples of an AI that could create convincing social engineering attacks and build malware.

Researchers at Stripe warn of a wave of spear phishing attacks targeting C-suite employees and senior leadership across a wide range of industries. The emails pose as OneDrive document-sharing notifications with subject lines like “Salary amendment” or “FIN_SALARY.” If a user clicks the link, they’ll be taken to a spoofed Microsoft Office/OneDrive login page designed to steal their credentials.

I occasionally get human risk management (HRM) administrators asking me to help them with ideas of “contests” to better educate their end-users. They have usually done the traditional recommendations, which means at least monthly-to-weekly security awareness training (SAT) and simulated phishing. They are working to educate their end-users about social engineering and phishing attacks as best as they can without being overly annoying.

The State of California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has warned of an ongoing SMS phishing (smishing) campaign targeting residents, Malwarebytes reports. The FTB stated, “These text messages contain a link to a fraudulent version of certain FTB web pages, which are designed to steal personal and banking information.