Phishing attacks impersonating Microsoft have increased by 266% in Q1 compared to Q1 of 2021. Microsoft, Facebook, and French band Credit Agricole are the brands most commonly used by malicious actors to conduct phishing attacks, according to a study of phishing released by researchers at Vade Tuesday. Phishing attacks leveraging the Facebook brand are up by 177% in the second quarter of 2022 in the same timeframe, says the report.
The study analyzed unique phishing URLs crafted by criminals to conduct phishing attacks instead of identifying and analyzing phishing emails associated with the URLs in order to isolate single campaigns. The study then recorded and tallied the most commonly targeted companies, the most abused industries, and the most common days of the week for delivering phishing emails. Other commonly impersonated or abused brands include WhatsApp, Paypal, Google, Apple, and Orange. Vade also reported that in Q1 of 2022, 24% of all unique phishing attacks impersonated financial services brands, making it the most popular industry for cybercriminals to target.
Read More: Phishing Attacks Skyrocket with Microsoft and Facebook as Most Abused Brands