Resources

Blog

Abusing Data to Avoid Detection: Cybercriminal Adoption of Browser Fingerprinting

Browser fingerprinting is one of many tactics phishing site authors use to evade security checks and lengthen the lifespan of malicious campaigns. While browser fingerprinting has been used by legitimate organizations to uniquely identify web browsers for nearly 15 years, it is now commonly exploited by cybercriminals. Today, it is considered widely used for phishing purposes.
Blog

Dark Web Actors Overwhelmingly Target Card Data, Finance in Q4

Credit unions were the top targeted industry on the Dark Web in Q4 2023, continuing its lead over the historically targeted banking industry for the third consecutive quarter. Financials as a whole continue to be a primary focus of criminal groups on underground channels, with more than 91% of malicious activity directed at either credit unions, banks, financial services, or payment services...
Blog

Social Media Attacks Focus on Financials, Executives in Q4

In Q4, impersonation threats made up more than 45% of total attacks on social media, with the vast majority targeting banking and financial services. Impersonation on social media continues to grow, with threats specifically targeting corporate executives responsible for driving the majority of volume for three consecutive quarters. The average number of social media attacks per business has...
Blog

DarkLoader Leads Malware Attacks in Q4

In Q4, three malware families represented more than 93% of all payload volume targeting end users, with Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) DarkLoader leading all other reports. Fortra first received reports of DarkLoader in user inboxes in Q3, with attack volume picking up significantly beginning in October. The shift to criminal activity associated with DarkLoader comes after coordinated efforts by...
Blog

O365 Volume Up in Q4 as Cybercriminals Target Brands in Credential Theft Attacks

The majority of malicious emails reported in user inboxes contained a link to a phishing site, making credential theft emails the attack method of choice for cybercriminals in Q4. Credential theft made up nearly 60% of all reported incidents, with more than half of the volume attributed to O365 attacks. Despite the threat actor preference toward this threat type, credential theft attacks declined...
Blog

Phishing-as-a-Service Profile: LabHost Threat Actor Group

Fortra is monitoring malicious activity targeting Canadian banks conducted by Phishing-as-a-Service group LabHost. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Fortra has observed phishing attacks connected with Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) groups grow as threat actors use the tools provided through membership services to launch a variety of campaigns. The providers of these platforms boast features such as access...
Blog

How Threat Actors will Leverage Domain Impersonation in 2024

Historically, the average brand is targeted by 40 look-alike domains per month. Look-alikes are a strategic component of malicious lures and websites and used in a variety of spaces including social platforms, text messages, the open web, and email. An attack that incorporates a look-alike domain can mean the difference between a convincing campaign and a suspicious one, with a versatility that...
Blog

Executive Attacks on Social Media Hit All-Time High as Analysts Point to AI

Executive impersonation on social media is at an all-time high as threat actors take advantage of AI to improve and scale their attacks. In Q3, accounts pretending to belong to high-ranking executives on social media climbed to more than 54% of total impersonation volume, surpassing brand attacks for the first time since Fortra began tracking this data. The volume and composition of these attacks...
Blog

Cybercriminal Focus in the New Year – Top 2024 Threat Trends

Criminals are constantly innovating ways to enhance deliverability and increase the success of their campaigns. Email phishing remains one of the most significant threats to organizations, but a growing number of campaigns are first touching victims via non-traditional lures or through engagement on platforms where users are more susceptible to scams. Understanding how online threats are evolving...
Blog

Getting the Board on Board: Explaining Cybersecurity ROI

In this Tripwire guest blog, we break down how to best communicate the significance of a cybersecurity investment. Despite increasing data breaches, ransomware attacks, and assorted cyber threats, convincing the Board of Directors to invest in robust cybersecurity isn't always easy for many businesses. The challenge originates mainly from the need to demonstrate a quantifiable Return On Investment...
Guide

2023 Domain Impersonation Report

Current Domain Threats, Trends, and Techniques Domain impersonation is the foundation for a multitude of online threats. Because a domain is dynamic, identifying when and how it will be used for malicious purposes can be challenging for security teams, and requires constant monitoring for behavior that will validate removal. In the 2023 Domain Impersonation Report, we review look-alike domain...
Guide

Disrupt Counterfeit Threats

A Digital Risk Protection Playbook Counterfeit threats, such as fraudulent ads and look-alike domains, are on the rise especially with the expansion of e-commerce and online consumer-to-business interaction. However, the collection and mitigation of counterfeit activity can be complicated. Prioritizing relationships with platforms and providers along with collecting data showing evidence of abuse...
Guide

Brand Threats Masterclass

In 2024, organizations face growing brand protection challenges with online impersonation attacks targeting their assets through non-traditional means. These attacks are spanning channels not typically protected by corporate controls and leveraging AI to generate lures, making detection increasingly broad and mitigation nuanced. To better understand the top brand risks, Fortra held a roundtable...
Blog

VM Blog: Braving the Digital Risk & Email Security Landscape

How will the digital risk and email security landscape evolve in 2024? In this VM Blog article, Eric George discusses the industry’s future and shares his seven predictions for 2024. Originally published in VM Blog . Excerpt: “AI and ML will enhance capabilities on both sides of the cyber landscape – for good and bad. On the defensive side, those protecting the targets will use advanced data...
Guide

Ransomware Playbook: Defense in Depth Strategies to Minimize Impact

Ransomware operators are disabling critical systems and publishing stolen data in record volumes, and businesses that fall prey to an attack often feel helpless determining a solution because the threat itself is in a constant state of evolution. This playbook breaks down how to: Identify and mitigate attacks before they occur Maintain broad visibility into data leaks and threat actor activity...
Guide

Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence May 2022

May 2022 In Q1, Agari and PhishLabs detected and mitigated hundreds of thousands of phishing, social media, email, and dark web threats targeting a broad range of enterprises and brands. The Quarterly Threat Trends & Intelligence Report provides an analysis of the latest findings and insights into key trends shaping the threat landscape. Readers will learn: How phishing attack volume changed in Q1...
Guide

Domain Impersonation Whitepaper

Preventing Domain Impersonation: How to Stop Look-Alike Domains and Spoofing In the first half of 2023, cybercriminals targeted company brands using an average of 40 look-alike domains per month. Domain impersonation threats trick users into giving away sensitive information by convincing them an email is from a trusted source or a website is authentic. It’s crucial that companies take preventive...