Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Read also: Major hacking forums seized in an international police op, British trio running the OTP.Agency vishing service sentenced, and more.

Researchers at Zimperium warn that a large phishing campaign is impersonating the US Postal Service (USPS) to target mobile devices with malicious PDF files. The goal of the campaign is to direct users to a spoofed USPS website designed to harvest personal information. “The investigation into this campaign uncovered over 20 malicious PDF files and 630 phishing pages, indicating a large-scale operation,” the researchers write.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google were the most commonly impersonated brands in phishing attacks last quarter, according to researchers at Check Point. “Microsoft retained its dominance as the most imitated brand in phishing schemes, accounting for a staggering 32% of all attempts,” Check Point says. “Apple followed with 12%, while Google ranked third. Notably, LinkedIn reentered the list at fourth place, emphasizing the persistent targeting of technology and Social Network brands.

There was some good, bad, and neutral news when it comes to email threats in December 2024, according to new data compiled by Trustwave SpiderLabs’ MailMarshal email security team. Trustwave SpiderLabs’ PageML, which is used in MailMarshal’s Blended Threat Module (BTM), flagged 19 million malicious URLs for VirusTotal, of which 2.2 million detections were only picked up by Trustwave. The team reported that 25% of all incoming spam emails were in fact phishing attacks of some type.

Phishing attacks are the most common security issue for smartphone users, according to a new study by Omdia. The survey found that nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents have fallen victim to a mobile phishing attack. The second most common mobile threat was malware, which is usually delivered via social engineering. The researchers note that phishing attacks reached all the smartphones assessed in the study, regardless of vendor.

In 2024’s State of Digital Impersonation Resilience report there was one key finding that neatly frames the digital impersonation fraud challenge. Of the businesses surveyed, 72% use a digital impersonation protection solution, but only 6% could confirm its efficacy. In other words, scam-targeted industries are investing in finding solutions, but those solutions aren’t delivering.

The Russian threat actor “Star Blizzard” has launched a spear-phishing campaign attempting to compromise WhatsApp accounts, according to researchers at Microsoft. The operation targets individuals who are involved in providing assistance to Ukraine.

Phishing attacks are a huge threat. They prey on human trust and manage to trick even the most tech-savvy users. A successful attack on a company’s customers can weaken it financially, create compliance issues, and cause long-lasting reputational damage. Scammers have stolen over $1 trillion globally in just the past year – a staggering figure that rivals the GDP of some nations.