In this post, we’ll briefly explain what a DMARC policy is, how to set up your DMARC email record, what the three types of DMARC policies are and when to implement each one, and how to diagnose and fix any issues associated with it. Basically, your DMARC policy tells email receivers what to do with illegitimate or possibly fraudulent emails—whether to reject, quarantine, or accept them. Overall,...

In 2022, geopolitical unrest and an expanding online attack surface contributed to the emergence of several themes across the cyber landscape. Infrastructures associated with opposing ideologies were highly targeted, with government agencies, supply chains, and IOT devices falling victim to high-profile campaigns. Cybercriminals launched increasingly advanced attacks on vulnerable entities, with...

Facebook. X. Instagram. LinkedIn. YouTube. TikTok. Threads. The list keeps growing. Whether you’re a fan or a critic, there's no denying that social media platforms have become essential communication channels for individuals and organizations alike. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are exploiting the same platforms — drawn by their immense reach, anonymity, and low cost of entry. Social media has...

Criminals continue to exploit the urgency around major gift-giving seasons like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and Hanukkah. Counterfeit activitynow surges by more than 50% from September through November, with a 27% spike in November alone. These sophisticated threats impersonate trusted brands across social media platforms and the open web, targeting consumers through deceptive ads, look...

In Q3, Credit Unions nearly overtook National Banks as the top targeted industry on the Dark Web, according to recent data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. Credit Unions have been increasingly targeted on underground channels, with Q3 2022 representing the highest incident count for the industry in four consecutive quarters.Compromised data associated with Financial Institutions as a whole is consistently...

In Q3, the volume of social media attacks targeting the average business was 40.4% higher than the same time last year, according to the latest data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. Social media attack volume has grown significantly year-over-year with the average business in 2022 experiencing 84.5 malicious incidents per month versus 50.59 in 2021. Fortra analyzes hundreds of thousands of social media...

The volume of malicious emails reported in corporate inboxes has reached a four-quarter high, according to the latest data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. These threats are largely composed of Response-Based, Credential Theft, and Malware attacks targeting employees.Every quarter, Fortra analyzes hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks targeting enterprises, brands, and employees. In...

In Q3, nearly 80% of threat actors opted to compromise existing websites or abuse free tools when staging phishing sites, according to the latest data from Fortra’s PhishLabs. While Compromised Sites represented the lion’s share of staging activity, URL Shorteners, Free Domain Registrations, and Developer Tools all experienced increased abuse in Q3 and pointed to sustained criminal interest in no...

The financial industry continues to face the highest volume of social media abuse compared to any other sector. In Q3, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions accounted for nearly 75% of all attacks on social platforms. National banks, in particular, experienced a surge—tripling the attack volume seen by the most-targeted non-financial sector: retail.The most common threats...

In Q3, Redline Stealer represented nearly half of all malware attacks targeting corporate user inboxes. This is the first quarter Redline has led payload volume since PhishLabs began reporting on malware activity. Email payloads remain the primary delivery method of ransomware targeting organizations. PhishLabs continuously monitors payload families reported in corporate inboxes to help mitigate...

Courtesy of Agari by Fortra Email spoofing is one of the most common forms of cybercriminal activity, specifically a form of identity deception that's widely used in phishing and spam attacks. It underpins the mechanism required to conduct hacking activities, and it can take many forms. Unfortunately, most email users will eventually receive an email that has been spoofed—whether they know it or...

Hybrid vishing attacks have increased 500% year-over-year as cybercriminals find success using these techniques to steal sensitive information. Listen as Agari’s John Wilson discusses the latest research from Agari and PhishLabs by Fortra. Click here to listen to the podcast. if(window.strchfSettings === undefined) window.strchfSettings = {};window.strchfSettings.stats = {url: "https://phishlabs...

The expansive nature of counterfeit campaigns and the often-blurred lines of digital abuse make it difficult to effectively mitigate online threats targeting retail brands. Distinguishing between infringement and fair use of publicly available content is challenging, especially given the vast and dynamic online environments where counterfeit operations can thrive. Compounding the issue, threat...

Retail brands are under near-constant attack across digital channels. Fraudulent ads, fake social profiles, AI-generated websites, and spoofed mobile apps are increasingly used in coordinated counterfeit campaigns that hijack brand equity to steal consumer data and divert revenue. As ecommerce continues to grow — and AI-driven shopping assistants accelerate online transactions — the digital...

Nearly half of stolen data on the Dark Web was marketed through Chat-Based Services in Q2 after a sharp increase in illegal transactions, according to the Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report.The advertisement and exchange of stolen information on the Dark Web is volatile due to the constant threat of disruption or seizure by authorities. Often, when one site is removed, another emerges...

In Q2, four out of five phishing sites were staged using infrastructure that required no investment on the part of threat actors, including Compromised Sites and Free Tools and Services, according to the Agari & PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Although the volume of Paid Domain Registrations associated with phishing sites grew slightly, threat actors continue to choose no...

In Q2, Response-Based emails targeting corporate users reached the highest volume since 2020, according to the Agari and PhishLabs Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report. Malicious and potentially damaging emails targeting corporate inboxes have climbed to a three-quarter high, and include Response-Based scams, Credential Theft, and Malware.Every quarter, Agari and PhishLabs analyze...

In Q2, malicious attacks targeting organizations on social media have increased more than 20% over Q1, according to the latest Agari and PhishLabs’ Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report.Agari and PhishLabs analyze hundreds of thousands of phishing and social media attacks every quarter to identify the top threats targeting enterprises, their brands, and their employees. In this post, we...

In Q2, Response-Based attacks targeting corporate inboxes climbed to their highest volume since 2020, according to the latest Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report from Agari and PhishLabs. Response-Based threats such as Advanced-Fee Fraud, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and hybrid Vishing attacks all demonstrated increased volume in Q2, with Vishing specifically growing 625% over the...

Courtesy of Fortra Data Loss PreventionWhile large-scale ransomware and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks may be taking up the bulk of people’s cybersecurity news feeds, organizations have more to worry about than the newest and most sophisticated forms of malware. One of the most tried and true attack vectors used by threat actors to gain sensitive information and compromise networks...