The US Department of Justice has indicted four Iranian nationals for allegedly launching spear phishing attacks against the US government and defense contractors. In one instance, the hackers compromised over 200,000 employee accounts at a victim organization. “In conducting their hacking campaigns, the group used spearphishing — tricking an email recipient into clicking on a malicious link — to infect victim computers with malware,” the Justice Department said.

Threat actors are increasingly using generative AI tools to improve their phishing campaigns, according to a new report from Zscaler. “AI represents a paradigm shift in the realm of cybercrime, particularly for phishing scams,” the researchers write. “With the aid of generative AI, cybercriminals can rapidly construct highly convincing phishing campaigns that surpass previous benchmarks of complexity and effectiveness.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the pressure is mounting on small and medium businesses (SMBs), as they must get their cyber preparedness correct or the next cyber attacks could prove disastrous.

New data shows phishing attacks are deviating from the traditional focus on technology and retail sectors and are opting for alternate brands with widespread appeal. I’ve covered plenty of reports about brand impersonation and it’s almost always Microsoft on top of the list. And with good reason: access to a Microsoft 365 account can give attackers a foothold and potential access to data, applications and more.

Global optics manufacturer Hoya had business operations at its headquarters and several business divisions impacted and is now facing a “No Negotiation / No Discount Policy” $10 million ransom decision to make.

A new survey of physicians details the devastating impact of the Change Healthcare cyber attack on the healthcare sector. In February, a cyber attack on Change Healthcare brought much of the U.S. healthcare system to a halt. The revenue and payment cycle management provider is central to connecting payers, providers and patients within the U.S. healthcare system to ensure payments are made.

The cybercriminal threat actor FIN7 is launching spear phishing attacks against the automotive industry in the United States, according to researchers at BlackBerry. The threat actor identifies IT employees at automotive companies and attempts to trick them into downloading a Trojanized version of a free IP scanning tool. FIN7 is a Russia-based financially motivated threat actor that carries out a variety of cybercrime activities, including ransomware attacks.

Analysis of cyber attacks targeting U.K. organizations highlights the effectiveness of social engineering attacks and the fact that businesses are missing the mark on how to stop it. The U.K. Government just released their Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 where they asked U.K. businesses and charities about their experiences with cyber attacks and breaches, their preparedness plans, response plans and the impacts of the attacks. According to the survey results, half (50%) of all U.K.

New advancements in generative AI voice cloning come at a time when banks are looking for additional ways to authenticate their customers – and they’re choosing your voice. Banks adopted the principles of multi-factor authentication years ago. But continued cyber attacks aimed at providing SIM swapping services have increased the risk of assuming the credential owner actually possesses the mobile device. So, where do they go next to prove you’re you? Voiceprint.

LastPass has warned that one of its employees was targeted by a social engineering attack that used an audio deepfake that impersonated the company’s CEO. Fortunately, the employee grew suspicious and avoided falling for the attack. Mike Kosak, Senior Principal Intelligence Analyst at LastPass, explained in a blog post, “In our case, an employee received a series of calls, texts, and at least one voicemail featuring an audio deepfake from a threat actor impersonating our CEO via WhatsApp.