"Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022"

Security researchers at Perception Point have observed a 356% growth in the number of advanced phishing attacks attempted by threat actors in 2022.  The total number of cyberattacks increased by 87%.  The researchers noted that among the reasons behind this growth is the fact that malicious actors continue to gain widespread access to new tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-powered tools.  These have automated the process of generating sophisticated attacks, including those characterized by social engineering as well as evasion techniques.  The researchers stated that the changing threat landscape has resulted from the swift adoption of new cloud collaboration apps, cloud storage, and productivity services for external collaboration.  Threat actors have adapted to this shift, with 2022 experiencing a 161% surge in attacks on cloud storage and collaboration apps, though email and the browser remained the leading attack vectors.  Overall, phishing was the most pervasive threat, accounting for 67.4% of all attacks.  The researchers noted that last year also experienced a significant increase in business email compromise (BEC) attacks, which grew by 83%.  Microsoft was the brand most impersonated in malicious emails, 3.3x more than the next most copied brand, LinkedIn.

Infosecurity reports: "Advanced Phishing Attacks Surge 356% in 2022"