Digital Deception

Phishing is the most widely used method for spreading ransomware!

Phishing schemes continue to plague our email as they evolve to attack more efficiently and effectively. As more consumers engage in social media platforms for e-commerce and online community engagement, hackers are able to personalize targeted phishing attacks with the information made publicly available on social media. The personalized content of the phishing email makes it all the more convincing for victims to fall prey.

Have you ever gotten an email from your bank or medical office asking you to update your information online or confirm your username and password? Maybe a suspicious email from your boss asking you to execute some wire transfer. That is most likely a phishing attempt, and you’re among the 76% of businesses that were victims of a phishing attack in the last year.

What is phishing? Hackers mimic the emails, forms, and websites of legitimate companies in an effort to lure people into providing their private, personal information, like credit cards numbers, social security information, and account logins. In the past, as soon as the victim gave up their information, the hacker moved in and stole money from the compromised bank account. Currently, it’s often more lucrative for hackers to sell that information on the Dark Web, resulting in longer-lasting, even more devastating attacks. The victim typically doesn’t realize they’ve been compromised until long after the event, and oftentimes only after their identity or finances are affected

Here are some important statistics about phishing:

• The average user gets about 16 malicious emails each month
• 230,000 new malware is created every day

Phishing is the most widely used method for spreading ransomware, and has increased significantly since the birth of major ransomware viruses like Petya and Wannacry. The scheme works and the business owners feel they have no choice but to give in to the demands of the hacker and pay their way out which still is not guaranteed, remember you are dealing with a cybercriminal.

How can you protect yourself from a phishing attack? There are many ways but the first step is being aware and if an email looks suspicious, treat it that way until you verify it’s legitimacy. Check out the article links above for more information. If you feel you may be compromised, contact ATECHSO to see how we can aTECHSolve your IT needs.