Barracuda research reveals evolving tactics attackers use to trick victims

New report looks at the latest ways cybercriminals launch spear-phishing attacks and exploit compromised email accounts

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Dec 17, 2020, 09:03 ET

CAMPBELL, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Highlights:

Business email compromise (BEC) attacks are increasing as cybercriminals see how lucrative this type of attack can be.
Attackers' exploitation of fears around the COVID-19 pandemic show how quickly they can adapt to current events.
Hackers use multiple tactics to disguise malicious links and avoid detection by URL protection solutions.

Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released a new report with key findings about the ways cybercriminals are adapting quickly to current events and new tactics. The latest report, titled 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.

See the full report: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-5

The report takes an in-depth look 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.

Attack trends and beyond
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 victim 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, as their response to the COVID-19 pandemic proved only too well," said Don MacLennan, SVP, Engineering & Product Management, Email Protection, Barracuda. "Staying aware of the way spear-phishing tactics are evolving will help organizations take the proper precautions to defend against these highly targeted attacks and avoid falling victim to scammers' latest tricks."

Resources:

Download the full report: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-5

Read the blog post: Report: Best practices to defend against evolving spear-phishing attacks: http://cuda.co/42964

Read Vol. 1 - Best Practices to Defeat Evolving Attacks: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report

Read Vol. 2 - Email account takeover and defending against lateral phishing attacks: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-2

Read Vol. 3 - Defending against business email compromise attacks: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-3

Read Vol. 4 - Insights into attacker activity in compromised email accounts: https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-4

Read the e-book: 13 Email Threat Types to Know About Right Now: https://www.barracuda.com/13-threats-report

About Barracuda
At Barracuda we strive to make the world a safer place. We believe every business deserves access to cloud-enabled, enterprise-grade security solutions that are easy to buy, deploy, and use. We protect email, networks, data, and applications with innovative solutions that grow and adapt with our customers' journey. More than 200,000 organizations worldwide trust Barracuda to protect them — in ways they may not even know they are at risk — so they can focus on taking their business to the next level. For more information, visit barracuda.com. 

Barracuda Networks, Barracuda and the Barracuda Networks logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Barracuda Networks, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.

Contacts
Anne Campbell
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
978-328-1642
[email protected]

SOURCE Barracuda Networks, Inc.