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Phishing and Crypto Attacks Soared in First Half of 2021

Phishing and Crypto Attacks Soared in First Half of 2021
Phishing attacks have always been one of the most popular attacks for cybercriminals. As of lately, attackers have also set their eyes on cryptocurrency theft for greater revenue. According to a report published by PhishLabs, these two attacks have witnessed a huge rise in H1 2021.

Some stats your way

  • An increase of 22% has been reported in phishing attacks, as compared to 2020.
  • In the cryptocurrency industry, 54% of attacks came from threat actors impersonating brands, employees, and executives on social media.
  • Social media became a favorite attack vector, accounting for 47% of all attacks.
  • Office 365 accounts for the top corporate email threat as 51% of credential theft phishing attacks targeted O365 inboxes.
  • In addition to this, 45% of phishing sites targeted accounts that used Single Sign-On (SSO).

Why this matters

  • These statistics indicate the lengths threat actors would go to pilfer corporate credentials.
  • The crypto industry is now witnessing cyber threats that were previously reserved for large financial institutions.
  • The continual SSO attacks suggest that SSO has become a highly rewarding platform for bad actors. Accounts for used SSO can provide threat actors with access to many secondary accounts.
  • Almost 80% of all phishing attacks leverage HTTPS.

Other trends

While phishing attacks pose some of the greatest threats to organizations and individuals alike, it is time that we consider digital fraud too.
  • Phishing accounts for the most common COVID-19 digital fraud in Q2 2021.
  • Fraudulent charges and credit card theft account for 31% of all online fraud endeavors.
  • The gaming and travel sectors are the most affected by digital fraud, with a year-on-year growth of 393% and 155.9%, respectively.
  • One-third of the global population has already fallen prey to digital fraud during the pandemic.

The bottom line

Phishing is one of the most basic methods employed by threat actors to steal credentials, compromise organizational networks, and hijack accounts. Furthermore, the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and subsequent attacks on them, drive home the need for stronger and proactive cybersecurity defenses. The threat landscape is evolving way too quickly and enterprises need to plan appropriately.

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