The most impersonated brand in phishing attacks
Microsoft is the most popular brand for phishing attacks in the first half of 2022. It was reported that Microsoft is followed by Facebook and then Credit Agricole. WhatsApp, Orange, and other brands round out the top five.
Microsoft continues to be a top target for brand impersonation
Microsoft is the most popular brand impersonated in phishing attacks. Microsoft 365 has become a popular service for small and medium-sized businesses, so phishers are trying to trick them into visiting fake websites and giving away valuable data.
Additionally, when a Microsoft account is compromised, hackers can use it to attack your company. They can distribute malware, launch ransomware attacks, and manipulate employees into participating in business email compromise.
Phishing attacks increased in Q1, then declined in Q2
According to a new report, Q1 was the peak of phishing attacks. In the first quarter, there were 81,447 unique phishing URLs detected, compared to 53,198 in Q2. Among the most notable increases, Google phishing increased 873%, Apple phishing increased 737%, and Instagram phishing increased 683%.
Phishing attacks against Microsoft increased by 266 percent in the first quarter, while Facebook phishing declined by 12 percent. In fact, Facebook was the only brand in the top 25 to experience a decline in phishing attacks.
Financial services was the most impersonated industry
The finance industry had the most brands on the top 25 list. Cloud technology was second with six brands. E-commerce and logistics each had four brands on the list, followed by social media with three.
- Phishers are most likely to attack on weekdays.
- 34 percent of phishing URLs impersonated financial services brands in H1.
- Facebook and WhatsApp were the most impersonated social media brands.
- Microsoft was the most impersonated cloud brand.
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