New research by WEF found that ransomware attacks rose by 151% in 2021. There were nearly 270 cyberattacks per organization, with each successful security breach costing a company over $3.6 million.

To avoid detection, most bait attacks are launched using new accounts from Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail. The analysis by Barracuda reveals that 91% of phishers use Gmail to launch bait attacks.

The evolution of malware variants has become prevalent as cybercriminals continue to create novel malicious codes, botnets, or redesign old malware variants to stealthily compromise targeted networks.

Following the incident, the company warned that users might experience failed calls, API and portal latency/time outs, and/or delayed or failed messages until proper resolutions are made.

In May, the FBI said that it had found threat actors to be impersonating Truist, the sixth-largest U.S. bank holding company. That spear-phishing campaign attempted to infect victims with RAT malware.

Cybercriminals always aim high when targeting organizations and demanding ransom. The pandemic has given opportunistic hackers time to come up with innovative phishing attacks and extortion schemes.