Phishing attacks increase in volume, sophistication

Phishing attacks have not only been more prevalent but also more sophisticated, reports SiliconAngle. Nearly one-third of phishing threats from May 2022 to May 2023 involved deceptive links, some of which entailed redirection chains, while nearly all phishing messages have been created to evade email authentication measures, according to a Cloudflare report. Impersonation of major organizations continued, with Microsoft being the most targeted. A separate report from Interisle revealed that Microsoft was the third most spoofed brand in phishing attacks during the same period, after Mitsubishi and Facebook, with researchers noting the increasing severity of phishing threats every year. "Reviewing the data we have collected since 2020, we conclude that the prevailing uncoordinated and ineffective attempts to curb phishing are simply not working, and that a new strategy is required," said Interisle. Meanwhile, Cloudflare noted that exacerbating phishing attacks should prompt not only the implementation of zero-trust email security and anti-phishing controls in cloud emails, but also a culture shift toward increased transparency.