Attackers rapidly adopting new techniques to target users

Zix announced the release of a report which finds attackers are rapidly adopting new techniques to target users.

“Cybercrime is exploding in 2021 and if there is anything that could be learned over the past year, it is that threat hunters are essential,” says Troy Gill, Manager of Research at Zix.

“Companies cannot wait for potential threats to emerge but must proactively identify security incidents that may go undetected by automated security tools. As we enter into the back half of the year, we will continue to see phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC) and ransomware attackers become more sophisticated and bad actors asking for higher bounties to release data they have compromised.”

Techniques most frequently used by attackers

• Customized phishing attacks on the rise: Phishing attacks have not only increased in volume between Q1 and Q2 but have also become more advanced, with campaigns becoming more customized to targeted users through the utilization of CAPTCHAs and web certificate data. Websites like Spotify and DocuSign were among the many used to draw in users.
• Development of new attack trends: Email threats were found to have increased throughout the first half of 2021, with 2.9 billion quarantined through June. URL and text-based attacks rose consistently throughout the first half of the year, while email-based attacks decreased in the first five months before sharply increasing in June.
• Business email compromise (BEC) attacks become #1 used tactic: Overall, the report found businesses to be most vulnerable and sought after by attackers. Hackers have been found to monitor conversations from inside a compromised account before sending more customized messages in an attempt to steal financial information or credentials.