Barracuda Networks has highlighted how cybercriminals leverage HTML as an attack technique in phishing, credential theft, and malware delivery.

Spammers are phishing eager holidaymakers with travel, themed lures, according to new research from Bitdefender Antispam Lab.

Response-based attacks targeting corporate inboxes have climbed to their highest volume since 2020, representing 41% of all email-based scams.

When the first email was sent over 50 years ago, no one could have predicted how much we would end up relying on this technology or the threats that would come to be associated with it.

New research has found that IT decision-makers are complacent about risks to the business from phishing and business email compromise, also known as CEO fraud.

More than three quarters of ASX 200 companies are subjecting customers, partners and employees to higher risks of email fraud.

More than a third of global businesses are likely to be targeted by a ‘bait attack’ within a one month period, according to new research from Barracuda Networks.

"While organisations have invested in protection against email threats, many of these attacks slip through gateways, landing in users inboxes."

The email messages included spam, malware and phishing attacks.

"Businesses must stay alert and should employ defense-in-depth tactics and equip themselves with multilayered security mechanisms, including high-sensor spam filters and a VPN connection, which would prevent malicious pages from opening."

“Securing oneself against this threat requires organisations to take protection matters into their own hands - this requires them to invest in sophisticated email security that leverages artificial intelligence to identify unusual senders and requests."

Barracuda has today released a report detailing how 6,170 malicious accounts that use Gmail, AOL, and other email services were responsible for more than 100,000 business email compromise (BEC) attacks on nearly 6,600 organisations. 

Cyber criminals have sent out a series of malicious emails attempting to manipulate users suffering from financial turmoil and difficulties triggered by the COVID-19 crisis.

Of the COVID-19 related attacks detected by Barracuda Sentinel through March 23, 54% were scams, 34% were brand impersonation attacks, 11% were blackmail, and 1% are business email compromise.

Vodafone New Zealand is urging its customers to be more vigilant on digital channels.

Email attacks are having a major impact on businesses, with ever-evolving security concerns proving a challenge for IT security professionals.

These scams use safety features to steal victims’ confidential data, and are ‘brandjacking’ trusted names in the industry to conduct their attacks.

“We’ve received more than 900 reports over the weekend. It looks like the real thing but has some tell-tale mistakes that people can use to tell it’s a scam."

"One of the most striking aspects of this emerging attack is the scale of potential victims that the attackers target."

Barracuda Networks found that 30% of respondents had fallen victim to a ransomware attack, with almost three quarters revealing the attacks had originated from email.

The attacker in the email claims they have hacked the intended victim's device, and have recorded the person while watching pornographic content.

It doesn’t take some people long to abuse people’s kindness and generosity in a time of mourning.

Despite ongoing efforts to raise awareness about online scams and fraud, New Zealanders are still losing staggering amounts of money.

Inland Revenue is warning New Zealanders to be vigilant about any ‘tax refund’ emails they receive that appear to look genuine.