Happy Monday and welcome back to our weekly roundup! Every Monday, the team at Sendio team rounds up all the latest news in email security to ensure you’re up to speed and prepared for the week to come. We recap the most recent email exploits and give you the knowledge necessary to properly secure your proprietary information and confidential data. This is the July 29, 2013 edition providing information about the recent increase in size and intensity of spear-phishing attacks and much more.
Enjoy and, as always, be sure to check back next week!
Why the FBI is Warning the World about Spear-Phishing Attacks
Spear-phishing is one of the main tools used by attackers to compromise endpoints and gain a foothold in the enterprise network. The issue has been deemed serious enough for the FBI to a deliver a warning about the worrying rise in spear-phishing , and multiple industry sectors have fallen foul of the attacks all over the world.
Email ‘Phishing Attacks’ by Hackers Growing in Number, Intensity
At least 2 million people received the email May 16 notifying them that an order they had just made on “Wallmart’s” website was being processed, though none of them had done any such thing.
Still, thousands of people clicked on the link in the email, taking many of them to a harmless Google search results page for “Walmart.” Others weren’t so fortunate. The link led to the invisible download of malware that covertly infected their personal computers, turning them into remotely controlled robots for hackers, according to email security firm Proofpoint Inc.
Who’s Susceptible to Email Phishing Attacks? Study Says Everyone
Asked in a survey to distinguish malicious emails from legitimate ones, nearly everyone in a group of 53 undergraduates failed.
The results from a new study by researchers at North Carolina State University found most people are overconfident in their ability to spot phishing attacks directed at them.
Email Traffic Gives Clues to Workplace Threats
Employees carrying out an insider attack at work can be identified from the language they use in emails, according to Lancaster psychologists.
Email Scam Targets Missourians for Unclaimed Property
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel sent out a report warning Missourians of an email scam being sent nationwide. The e-mail claims that the receiver is owed over $20 million dollars in unclaimed property.
Bogus “Royal Baby: Live Updates” Email Leads to Malware
As expected, news of the new birth in the British Royal Family has become a perfect lure in malware delivery schemes.
Would Your Firm Pass a Data Security Audit?
Lawyers are bound by Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15, which requires that client files be “appropriately safeguarded;” failure to comply is a failure in the overall duty to act competently and in the best interests of a client.
Profile of Likely Email Phishing Victims Emerges in Human Factors / Economics Research
The author of a paper to be presented at the upcoming 2013 International Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting has described behavioral, cognitive, and perceptual attributes of e-mail users who are vulnerable to phishing attacks. Phishing is the use of fraudulent e-mail correspondence to obtain passwords and credit card information, or to send viruses.
How Hackers Fool Your Employees
Pop quiz time: Which endpoint vulnerability is a hacker most likely to exploit to gain access to your enterprise network resources? It’s not some unpatched Windows flaw or browser vulnerability. It actually isn’t any technology at all. Your most vulnerable endpoint is the technology user a few cubes over.
