ZeroFox Releases Brand Protection Trends Report, Finds 164% Increase in Cyber Threats Targeting … | News

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In our increasingly interconnected digital world, brands face a growing array of external cybersecurity threats that can jeopardize their reputation, customers’ trust, and financial bottom line. According to the latest trend report from ZeroFox (Nasdaq: ZFOX), an enterprise software-as-a-service leader in external cybersecurity, digital threats targeting brands increased by 164% between the first and second quarters of 2023 – a significant jump that underscores the cruciality of securing an organization’s brand against digital risks such as impersonations and fraud.

In the 2023 Brand Protection Trend Report, ZeroFox Intelligence analyzed threat actor behavior targeting organizations’ brands in the second quarter of 2023. The report highlights a concerning quarter-over-quarter spike in both domain and executive impersonations seeking to exploit the trust that brands have built with their customers, causing significant damage to brand reputation and customer loyalty. Brands are a lucrative pawn for threat actors, as hijacking an already-established brand makes it easier to deceive victims in various fraud, scam, and otherwise malicious campaigns.

Key Findings

Among the key findings in the report, ZeroFox Intelligence observed:

• A 35% increase in verified alerts for brand threats related to fraud, scams, and piracy quarter-over-quarter across the ZeroFox customer base, and a nearly 20% increase in brand-related impersonations.
• A 26% increase in fraudulent activity tied to brands observed in this quarter; more specifically, fraudulent job postings identified rose by over 50%.
• A nearly 20% increase in spoofed domains increased in the second quarter of 2023 versus the first quarter, with just over one-third tied to phishing campaigns.
• A 22% increase in key personnel and corporate social media impersonation accounts with a biography, name and image to legitimize these profiles; those that used a biography with a name only increased 35%.

“Because job seekers and consumers often blame targeted organizations for scams that abuse their brand, these organizations must proactively protect against domain and…