Phishing attacks preying on energy employees rose by 161% compared to last year's data — with the trend apparently showing no signs of slowing down. (according to BleepingComputer)
A new report by cybersecurity firm Lookout indicates energy is the most targeted, for attack followed by finance, pharma, government, and manufacturing sectors.
Mobile phishing spiked in the first half of 2021, with nearly 20% of all employees in the energy sector being targeted in attacks – hackers employing email, SMS, phishing apps, and login pages at fake corporate sites.
What is mobile phishing attack
In recent years, hackers have moved away from traditional mediums like email. Instead, mobile phishing is their new approach and are targeting services like SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, and fraudulent mobile apps. Cybercriminals are adept at using social engineering techniques to make their content appear authentic.
What are the Top mobile phishing channels ?
Smishing:
‘Smishing’ is popular because it focuses the attack on an often overlooked component of organizational cybersecurity: text messaging. The attacker sends a text to the victim’s phone that persuades them to click a link found in the message.
Social Media:
Malicious links appear across the board, and not just for the most popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Even professional networking platform, LinkedIn, has been known to play host to similarly malicious phishing attempts. These attacks put both user and organization at tremendous risk.
Whishing:
Whishing’ is the term coined to describe WhatsApp phishing. Because Whatsapp enables communication with anyone else on the platform, phishers can target a huge amount of users with the same blanket message. It’s a cheap and relatively easy way to quickly reach lots of users, which is why whishing is becoming especially prevalent.
Malicious Apps:
Malicious applications arrive in different forms. The first is from unofficial app stores. Users may unknowingly download a mobile application riddled with malware. There’s no enforceable guarantee that the download is the desired app. Often, the malware only activates after the app installation.
Another entry point for phishing attacks is through malicious apps on official app stores. There have been countless cases of app removals from iOS and Android app stores.
- Be hyperaware when receiving any type of call or message. Always be suspicious of unsolicited calls, texts, social media messages, and e-mails.
- Never share your personal or financial data.
- Be careful about which apps you download.
- Look into a spam blocker.
- Keep your devices secure and protected, have an up to date reputable anti virus installed.
See More Business Updates Here
Also View: Other Tender Opportunities Here
