Barracuda Networks claims 72% of COVID-19-related attacks are scamming

Barracuda recently came out with new report with key findings about the ways cybercriminals are -adapting quickly to current events and new tactics- Spear Phishing: Top Threats and Trends Vol. 5-

Best practices to defend against evolving attacks, reveals new details about these highly targeted threats, including the latest tactics used by cybercriminals and the steps you can take to defend your business.

The report looks deeply at how attackers are quickly adapting to current events and using new tricks to successfully execute attacks spear phishing, business email compromise, pandemic-related scams, and other types. It also tackles why organizations need to invest in protection against lateral phishing and other internally-launched attacks from compromised accounts, including solutions that use artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Barracuda’s research reveals key takeaways about how these targeted attacks are evolving and the approaches cybercriminals are using to maximize their impact.

Business email compromise (BEC) makes up 12% of the spear-phishing attacks analyzed an increase from just 7% in 2019.

72% of COVID-19-related attacks are scamming. In comparison, 36% of overall attacks are scamming. Attackers prefer to use COVID-19 in their less targeted scamming attacks that focus on fake cures and donations.

13% of all spear-phishing attacks come from internally compromised accounts, so organizations need to invest in protecting their internal email traffic as much as they do in protecting from external senders.

71% of spear-phishing attacks include malicious URLs, but only 30% of BEC attacks included a link. Hackers using BEC want to establish trust with their victims and expect a reply to their email, and the lack of a URL makes it harder to detect the attack.

“Cybercriminals adapt very quickly when they find a new tactic or current event that they can exploit. Their response to the COVID-19 pandemic proved it too well. As organizations in India, today are facing increasing threats from highly targeted phishing attacks, staying aware of the way spear-phishing tactics are evolving will help them take the proper precautions to protect their business and users. They must invest in technology to block attacks and provide training to help people act as a last line of defense and avoid falling victim to scammers’ latest tricks,” said, Murali Urs, Country Manager (India), Barracuda Networks.