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Research: Nearly 20% of all phishing activity occurred in April, according to OpenText Security Solutions’ Mid-Year Threat Repor
August 2022 by OpenText Security Solutions
OpenText Security Solutions has released its Mid-Year BrightCloud® Threat Report, highlighting the most recent trends in malware and phishing within the first six months of 2022.
The data presented in the report comes from the analysis of over 95 million endpoints and sensors to deliver insights into the cyber threats affecting consumers and businesses across various industries.
The report aims to arm organisations with the knowledge they need to pivot and stay ahead of cyber criminals’ around-the-clock reinvention of malware, phishing, and brand impersonations. Some of the highlights are:
Phishing:
• Phishing activity has been exceptionally high in 2022, with nearly 20% of all phishing activity occurring in April. This is likely the result of tax season when cybercriminals prey on unsuspecting users looking for tax refunds.
• Phishing sites continue to proliferate. 46% of phishing sites now use HTTPS, representing a 14% increase from 2021. This is steadily in line with the growth from 2020 (32%) and 24% in 2019.
• Favourite brands are being used as bait: with the top five-most targeted brands in 2022 being Facebook (seen in 20.5% of phishing scams), Google (17.8%), Apple (14%), Microsoft (6.12%) and PayPal (5.9%).
Malware:
• In the first six months of 2022, 89.3% of malware was unique to one PC, up from 86.3% in 2021. This slight uptick in the infection rate shows malware’s evasive steps to ensure each attack variant is successful.
• When it comes to endpoint infections, user behaviour continues to be a leading factor, with 54.55% of consumer endpoints encountering more than one infection, which is higher than the business endpoint infection rate of 49.84%.
• The Manufacturing industry continues to experience the highest above-average infection rate, rising just over 12% since 2021 to 66.5%. The Information and Public Administration verticals also saw spikes in 47.4% and 42.7% in above-average infection rates, respectively.
• Windows 11 adoption remains stagnant, only rising 4% for businesses and 15% for consumers within the first nine months of the release. These results highlight the importance of incorporating a layered security approach that includes DNS protection which helps reduce infection rates.
