CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai
Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) today published the
Akamai 2019 State of the Internet / Security Phishing: Baiting
the Hook report. The research findings indicate that
cybercriminals are using enterprise-based development and
deployment strategies, such as phishing as a service (PaaS), to
leverage some of the world's largest tech brands, with 42.63% of
domains observed targeting Microsoft, PayPal, DHL, and
Dropbox.
The report details that phishing is no longer just an
email-based threat, but has expanded to include social media and
mobile devices, creating a wide-reaching problem that touches all
industries. This evolving method continues to morph into different
techniques, one of which being business email compromise (BEC)
attacks. According to the FBI, BEC attacks resulted in worldwide
losses of more than $12
billion between October 2013 and May 2018.
"Phishing is a long-term problem that we expect will have
adversaries continuously going after consumers and businesses alike
until personalized awareness training programs and layered defense
techniques are put in place," said Martin
McKeay, Editorial Director of the State of the
Internet/Security report for Akamai.
The report shows that cybercriminals are targeting top global
brands and their users across various industries through
highly-organized and sophisticated phishing kit operations. During
the research period, with 6,035 domains, and 120 kit variations,
high technology was the top industry targeted by phishing.
Following that, financial services, with 3,658 domains and 83 kit
variants, was the second most-targeted industry. E-Commerce
(1,979 domains, 19 kit variants) and media (650 domains, 19 kit
variants) rounded out the list. In all, more than 60 global brands
were targeted during the reporting period.
According to Akamai's monitoring, Microsoft, PayPal, DHL, and
Dropbox were the top targeted brands when it came to phishing, with
Microsoft taking up 21.88% of total domains (3,897 domains and 62
kit variants), PayPal taking up 9.37% of total domains (14 kit
variants), DHL (7 kit variants) taking up 8.79% of total domains
and Dropbox having 2.59% (11 kit variants) of total domains.
Phishing defenses have forced changes to criminal operations, as
they seek to remain undetected for as long as possible. According
to Akamai's research, 60% of the phishing kits observed were active
for 20-days or less during the reporting period, which is becoming
more common among phishing attacks. This short lifespan is likely
why criminals continue to develop new evasion methods to keep their
kits undetected.
Akamai's new report also discusses a research project that
followed the daily operations of a phishing-kit developer who
offered three types of kits with advanced evasion techniques,
design, and geo-targeting options. The low prices and top-tier
brand targets in these kits are an attractive item, creating a
low-barrier for entry into the phishing market for criminals
looking to set up shop.
McKeay concludes, "As the phishing landscape continues to
evolve, more techniques such as BEC attacks will develop,
threatening a variety of industries across the globe. The style of
phishing attacks is not one size fits all; therefore, companies
will need to do due diligence to stay ahead of business-minded
criminals looking to abuse their trust."
The Akamai 2019 State of the Internet / Security Report
is available for download here. In addition, Akamai will be
conducting a webinar on Thursday, October
31 at 11:00 a.m. ET where
Akamai security experts discuss the findings of this latest report.
To register for the webinar, visit here.
For additional information, the security community can access,
engage with, and learn from Akamai's threat researchers and the
insight that the Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform affords into the
evolving threat landscape, visit Akamai's Threat Research
Hub.
About Akamai
Akamai secures and delivers digital experiences for the world's
largest companies. Akamai's intelligent edge platform surrounds
everything, from the enterprise to the cloud, so customers and
their businesses can be fast, smart, and secure. Top brands
globally rely on Akamai to help them realize competitive advantage
through agile solutions that extend the power of their multi-cloud
architectures. Akamai keeps decisions, apps, and experiences closer
to users than anyone — and attacks and threats far away. Akamai's
portfolio of edge security, web and mobile performance, enterprise
access, and video delivery solutions is supported by unmatched
customer service, analytics and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why
the world's top brands trust Akamai, visit www.akamai.com,
blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter.
Contacts:
Tim Whitman
Media Relations
617-444-3019
twhitman@akamai.com
Tom Barth
Investor Relations
617-274-7130
tbarth@akamai.com
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SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.