A recent article (August 2024) in The Hacker News reported a significant year on year increase in the number of phishing attacks, with the vast majority of businesses reporting that they had been impacted by such attacks.
And we can report that we have ourselves noticed a significant increase in phishing emails purporting to be from our hosting provider arriving in our inbox.
The Hacker News article (see link below) identifies that what lies behind the recent surge in phishing attacks is the advent of AI and PhaaS or 'Phishing-as-a-Service'.
AI and PhaaS apparently make it easier than ever for threat actors to create content for use in pishing campaigns, for example malicious emails and deepfake videos.
What can be done to avoid falling victim to phishing attacks?
For starters we should all be more cautious when receiving emails and for that matter any form of communication, whether anticipated or not.
The recent plethora of emails which we received purporting to be from our hosting provider were thankfully not very convincing.
They did however provide pause for thought.
And no doubt some unwitting recipient did click on the link so conveniently provided in the body of the email.
What saved us from falling victim to these phishing emails was our heightened state of awareness that such attacks are on the increase.
So what did we do instead of clicking on the link provided?
We visited the server directly to investigate further the subject matter of the emails - the issues referred to were non-existent.
And we forwarded the emails to the phishing@ email address provided by our hosting provider.
Learn more about phishing attacks
The article usefully published by The Hacker News (see link below) will help you better understand the tactics used by threat actors and implement more effective security measures.
And thereby reduce the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks.
Read more: How Phishing Attacks Adapt Quickly to Capitalize on Current Events
About The Hacker News
"The Hacker News (THN) stands as a top and reliable source for the latest updates in cybersecurity. As an independent outlet, we offer balanced and thorough insights into the cybersecurity sector, trusted by professionals and enthusiasts alike."
Subscribe to The Hacker News newsletter when you visit the following link.
Read more: About 'The Hacker News'
About WYNCHCO Solutions
We offer Joomla! CMS website coaching design and support services to business, academy school, public and third sector organisations which subscribe to WYNCHCO Joomla! CMS Support.
We support organisations in Cheshire, Manchester, Merseyside, and the North West region from our office in Warrington. If you are based in the UK but outside the North West, we can still help.
Our Mission is to put you in control of your website.
We enjoy keeping up-to-date with the latest Joomla! developments, trends and best practices and sharing our expertise with you to help you optimise how you use your Joomla! CMS website.
We work hard to develop and maintain long-lasting customer relationships.
We aim to deliver excellent support to our customers at all times.
We pride ourselves on building long-standing close-working relationships with our customers.
Key words
- Collaboration.
- Flexibility.
- Shared Purpose.
- Trust.
Our commitment
To provide you with:
- accurate and up-to-date product information,
- helpful solutions to support requests,
- transparent invoicing,
- SSL encryption when you visit our website.
To monitor our services to ensure optimal performance.
To safeguard your personal data.
To resolve your concerns promptly and professionally.
To pay our suppliers promptly and in return ask that our customers do the same.