Number of email-based phishing attacks surges 464%
The evolving cyberattack landscape reveals the increasing utilization of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems, like ChatGPT, by cybercriminals for crafting malicious content and executing sophisticated attacks, according to Acronis.
The biannual threat report highlights ransomware as the dominant risk to small and medium-sized businesses. And while the number of new ransomware variants continues to decline, ransomware attacks’ severity remains significant. Equally concerning is the growing prominence of data stealers, who leverage stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.
“The volume of threats in 2023 has surged relative to last year, a sign that criminals are scaling and enhancing how they compromise systems and execute attacks,” said Candid Wüest, Acronis VP of Research.
“To address the dynamic threat landscape, organizations need agile, comprehensive, unified security solutions that provide the necessary visibility to understand attacks, simplify context, and provide efficient remediation of any threat, whether it may be malware, system vulnerability, and everything in between,” Wüest continued.
Phishing is the primary method criminals leverage to unearth login credentials. In the first half of 2023 alone, the number of email-based phishing attacks has surged 464% when compared to 2022.
Over the same frame, there has also been a 24% increase in attacks per organization. In the first half of 2023, Acronis-monitored endpoints observed a 15% increase in the number of files and URLs per scanned email. Cybercriminals have also tapped into the burgeoning large language model (LLM)-based AI market, using platforms to create, automate, scale, and improve new attacks through active learning.
The cyberattack landscape is evolving
Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated in their attacks, using AI and existing ransomware code to drill deeper into victims’ systems and extract sensitive information. AI-created malware is adept at avoiding detection in traditional antivirus models and public ransomware cases have exploded relative to last year. Acronis-monitored endpoints are picking up valuable data about how…
