A very widespread technique among cyber criminals, phishing attacks are at the center of an intervention by Kaspersky which reveals the methods and possibilities of defense. These attacks aim to trick employees, impersonating legitimate sources and thus inducing them to reveal sensitive information. Such as, for example, login credentials or financial data. Phishing attacks come in various ways shape, but they often target corporate email systems due to the amount of sensitive information they contain. Kaspersky reveals the anatomy of a phishing attack to help companies strengthen defenses against possible breaches.
The case Pepco Group
According to Mimecast’s “The State of Email Security 2023” report, 83% of Cisos interviewed consider email as the source principal of cyber attacks. The recent Pepco Group case demonstrated the serious business consequences of phishing attacks. At the end of February, the company announced that its Hungarian branch had been the victim of a sophisticated phishing attack resulting in the loss of approximately 15.5 million euros. This incident highlights the growing threat posed by cybercriminals, underscoring the need to strengthen companies’ cybersecurity defenses.
Anatomy of phishing attacks
In response to this problem, Kaspersky reveals the anatomy of a phishing attack to help businesses protect yourself effectively from potential violations.
Motivations of cyber criminals. Phishing attacks can be traced back to cybercriminals motivated by various factors. In general, they are looking for a I earn economic by illegally acquiring sensitive information. For example, credit card information or login credentials, which can be sold or used for fraudulent transactions. Some are driven by political or ideological motivations, or for espionage purposes. Whatever the reason, attacks always pose serious risks to businesses.
The role of artificial intelligence
The initial approach. Phishing attacks typically start with the creation of fraudulent emails from cybercriminals, designed to trick recipients into taking action. These emails often imitate legitimate communications from trusted sources, such as colleagues, business partners, or known organizations. To increase the credibility, attackers can use techniques such as spoofing sender addresses or impersonating company branding. The situation is further exacerbated by the emergence of AI-based phishing attacks, which leverage sophisticated algorithms to create highly convincing and personalized phishing emails. This makes it even more difficult to detect and combat such threats. Phishing attacks: how they happen and how to defend yourself
Deceptive content and techniques. The success of phishing attacks is linked to exploitation of people’s weaknesses. Cybercriminals leverage psychological manipulation techniques. Thus forcing victims to act on impulse without fully evaluating the legitimacy of the email. Phishing emails use various strategies to trick recipients into getting the desired responses. The most common techniques include: False pretenses: Emails can seem urgent or important, inviting recipients to act quickly to avoid perceived consequences or take advantage of opportunities that may seem real. Social engineering: Attackers personalize emails and tailor messages based on recipients’ interests, roles or needs, increasing the likelihood of luring the victim. Malicious links and attachments: Phishing emails often contain links to fraudulent websites or malicious attachments to harvest credentials, install malware, or initiate unauthorized transactions. Criminals’ techniques during a phishing attack also change
Evade detection. To avoid detection by email security systems and anti-phishing solutions, cybercriminals refine their tactics and adapt to the evolution of cybersecurity measures. They can use obfuscation techniques, encryption methods, or URL redirection to evade detection and increase the effectiveness of attacks.
Consequences of successful phishing attacks. When phishing attacks are successful, there can be consequences for businesses serious. Breaches of corporate email systems can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, financial loss, reputational damage and failure to comply with regulations. Also, email accounts compromises they can serve as a starting point for further cyber attacks. Such as Business Email Compromise (BEC) or data exfiltration.
Mitigation strategy
To protect themselves from phishing attacks that target corporate email systems, businesses must implementation cybersecurity measures. They also need to train employees to increase phishing awareness and best practices. Effective mitigation strategies include employee training, introducing multi-factor authentication, formulating incident response plans. Without forgetting the implementation of advanced email filtering and security solutions.
Defend against ever-evolving threats
Timofey Titkov, Head of Cloud & Network Security Product Line di Kaspersky
In today’s dynamic threat landscape, businesses are facing an ever-increasing array of cyber risks with email-based attacks posing a particularly insidious threat. At Kaspersky we recognize the critical importance of equipping businesses with robust cybersecurity solutions to help them defend against these ever-evolving threats.Kaspersky Security for Mail Server combines advanced features of filtering of content with cutting-edge machine learning technology. Solution capable of providing unprecedented protection to corporate email systems, including against AI-based phishing attacks. By leveraging our solutions, companies can defend themselves effectively proactive from phishing attacks and other malicious threats, ensuring the security and integrity of their sensitive data.