Websense reveals key findings of latest phishing research

To shed some light on how targeted attacks and user education awareness are evolving, Websense Security Labs researchers investigated current phishing trends and  found that the percentage of phishing attempts within all email traffic dropped to 0.5 per cent in 2013 (down from 1.12 per cent in 2012).

Today’s phishing campaigns are lower in volume but much more targeted. Cybercriminals aren’t simply throwing millions of emails over the fence. They are instead targeting their attack strategies with sophisticated techniques and integrating social engineering tactics. Scammers use social networks to conduct their recon and research their prey.

From the research, it was revealed that China and Hong Kong made their debuts this year, having never before been included in the lists; the UK moved up from the number six spot; the U.S. dropped out of the number one spot, for the first time in a long time; Russia moved up from the number 10 spot, whereas Egypt and the Bahamas have disappeared from the list, after recent appearances.