Phishing. It’s alive and well, and if you’re in the world of technology, it’s often the bane of our existence. While ransomware often takes the spotlight, let us not forget about the danger and frequency of phishing attacks within organizations. Phishing is not something you want to ignore if you value the IT security of your business.
While many are familiar with the term, some interesting facts may come as a surprise to you. We believe knowledge is power–especially when it comes to preparing your staff members and protecting your organization from avoidable cybersecurity attacks. The statistics inform us of the nature and frequency of common phishing attacks and can help inform the risk and potential of an attack on your organization.
6 Surprising Phishing Facts
- 29% of breaches involve the use of stolen credentials.
- 65% of attacker groups used spear phishing as the primary infection vector.
- 59% of phishing attacks in the United States are related to finance.
- 95% of phishing emails from brands pretend to be from Amazon, eBay or banks.
- Phishing attempts very often use emails as their vector, attempting to bring the victim to a third-party site where they can proceed to steal private information.
- Another common vector is fake URLs that lead individuals to websites asking for personal data. Common methods of fake URLs include changing links to look-alikes (i.e. replacing “I” with “I”), phishing pop-ups on top of real site pages and phishing techniques that cause browsers to display the real URL.
(Sources: phishingbox.com, eSecurityPlanet.com)
As always, remember that knowledge and prevention is key. We talk more about what phishing is and how to avoid it, specifically, in regard to phishing emails, in our recent blog post. If your organization is considering investing in managed IT support, Clarity Technology Group would love to chat with you. We provide a variety of value-add services so that you can focus on running your business rather than IT. Get in touch with our team here.