Newsletter: Acronis H1 2024 Cyberthreats Report Highlights a 293% Surge in Email Attacks

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

Acronis, a global leader in cybersecurity and data protection, shared new research findings from the first half of 2024 in its biannual cyberthreats report by Acronis Threat Research Unit. Titled, “Acronis Cyberthreats Report H1 2024: Email attacks surge 293%, new ransomware groups emerge,” the report leverages over one million unique Windows endpoints from 15 key countries around the world to bring awareness to global trends in the cybersecurity industry. Most notably, the report found that email attacks have seen a 293% surge when compared to the same period in 2023. The number of ransomware detections were also on the rise, increasing 32% from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024.

Newsletter: PLDT, Smart block more than 13 million SMShing messages to combat ‘hijack profile’ incidents

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Elijah Mendoza, Digital Communications Senior Manager at Smart, shares tips on how to avoid falling for phishing messages.

PLDT’s wireless unit, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), has blocked more than 13 million SMShing messages in the first quarter of the year. It has also blacklisted almost 200,000 mobile numbers involved in phishing activities as the Philippine National Police (PNP) raised the alarm on ‘hijack profile’ cases.

Newsletter: SEA 2023: Cybercriminals clog business networks with financial phishing

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

In 2023, Kaspersky anti-phishing technologies detected nearly 500,000 attempts to follow a phishing link on businesses’ devices in Southeast Asia (SEA). Interestingly, this number only refers to phishing links related to finance matters – e-commerce, banking, and payment systems.

Newsletter: Acronis End-of-Year Cyberthreats Report Uncovers 222% Surge in Email Attacks During 2023

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

Biannual report reveals malware data gathered from July – December; highlights the rise of generative AI systems to create malware and orchestrate attacks

Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, has released the findings of its benchmarked cyberthreats report for the second half of 2023. Titled “Acronis Cyberthreats Report, H2 2023: Alarming rise in cyberattacks, SMBs and MSPs in the crosshairs,” the report provides an in-depth analysis and prescriptive outlook on key security issues and prevalent cyberthreats worldwide. By leveraging data collected from over 1,000,000 unique endpoints across 15 key countries, the findings conclude that AI-enhanced phishing affected over 90% of organizations and contributed to a 222% surge in email attacks in 2023 as compared to the second half of 2022. 

Newsletter: Kaspersky reveals top-three vacation-season scams

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With the vacation season in full swing, people around the world are searching for enticing travel destinations, affordable accommodations, and reasonably priced flights. Kaspersky researchers have observed fraudsters taking advantage of unsuspecting users by offering cheap airline tickets, booking deals, and vacation packages. To help travelers avoid scams, the company's researchers have outlined common fraud schemes used to entice victims, along with valuable advice on planning a scam-free vacation.

Newsletter: Date or DAIte? Kaspersky Study Reveals Over Half of Single Men Would Use ChatGPT to ‘Deceive’ Potential Dates

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

Think your online date might not quite be who they claim to be? New Kaspersky research published today reveals that it’s very possible that ChatGPT, the new generative AI tool that’s taken the world by storm in recent months, might be involved. Over half (54%) of single men surveyed said that they would be open to using ChatGPT to deceive a potential partner on a dating app in a bid to make themselves appear funnier or smarter when looking for love. 

Newsletter: Six months of phishing attacks in 2022 exceed SEA’s total number last year

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

Kaspersky urges organizations to pay attention as most APT attacks infect enterprises, governments through targeted phishing

Phishing incidents continue to skyrocket in Southeast Asia (SEA). The latest data from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky revealed that it only took six months for cybercriminals to exceed their phishing attacks last year against users from the region. 

Newsletter: Here's How You Can Protect Yourself from Phishing Attacks

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

Whenever you receive an SMS, chat message, or email from an unknown sender, be on guard. Protect yourself from phishing, smishing, and vishing scams and keep your personal details and your money safe. In case you’re not familiar with these scams, here are some important things to know so you won’t fall victim. 

The latest in Phishing on Messenger apps as Kaspersky reports for Dec 2020-May 2021

07/29/2021 01:21:27 PM

Phishing in messenger apps has been rampant in recent months. The question, though, is 'what's new about it?'

Newsletter: Almost 9M cryptominers prevented in SEA SMBs in 2020, more than phishing, ransomware combined

07/02/2021 07:46:05 AM

Author's Note: Kaspersky has blocked nine million cases of crypto mining last year. It is more than three times compared to phishing attempts, while over 800 thousand attempts of ransomware. 

More about this report from the global cybersecurity company can be seen in the press release below.

Kaspersky advises local finance sector to improve threat intelligence

05/16/2021 01:40:45 PM

As digital money transactions soaring high during this ongoing pandemic period, the financial sectors need to take a critical look at their integrated security and improve their threat intelligence capabilities.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky told the statement in their recent press release.

“For the large majority of cybercriminals, easy money is the prime motivator. And the financial sector is uniquely positioned to be a target of attacks regardless of season because it’s always where the money is. The growth of digital financial services in the Philippines, like in other parts of the region, is creating new and heightened risks for both service users and service providers. In this case, technology will be the game-changer,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia, Kaspersky.

Over 3M phishing attempts at SEA in 2020 —Kaspersky report

03/13/2021 08:09:49 PM

Kaspersky has kept on unmasking the phishing campaigns against small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Southeast Asia (SEA). And with that, its Anti-Phishing  Technology has blocked a total of 2,890,825 attempts aimed at SMBs in the region last year, a 20% increase compared with 2,402,569 attempts to visit fraudulent urls detected in 2019.

Cybercriminals go for the 'awards' during the recent Golden Globes with malicious files and phishing emails

03/08/2021 01:37:13 PM 

The percentage of users targeted by malware associated with nominated films in January

As we used to say here in the past, cyberattackers lure in the most popular times to and they will join the hype in taking advantage of it.

Phishing pages aims to steal PUBG, other gaming accounts —Kaspersky

11/25/2020 01:24:57 AM

Calling all PUBG gamers, there's a chance that someone's just aiming to steal your accounts. That's one of the recent findings by Kaspersky in time for the new gaming season.  In one of its newsletters, experts from the global cybersecurity company have found hundreds of phishing pages, aimed at stealing PUBG Mobile accounts.

9 of 10 people think their digital lifestyle are safe for their privacy -Kaspersky

10/06/2020 03:42:10 PM

Today, Filipinos are more concerned about some of their activities online such as dating, shopping, and other financial matters.

Newsletter: 1.6M more phishing almost infected SEA SMBs in H1 2020 -Kaspersky

08/28/2020 12:00:13 AM

Author's Note: Phishing is one of the known cases of cyber attacks that are persistent even during this time of pandemic and lockdown, proving that criminals never sleep.

The said case is on the rise with  1.6 million attempts to transfer users to phishing pages via links within emails blocked from January to June, showing small and medium businesses need cybersecurity improvements in the context of continued remote working.

Imagine that: on just the first semester of the new decade, SMBs are gravely affected at the time where countries are in recession and shops – small or even the big ones – are closing due to economical reasons.

More of that in this press release below. Read on.

Newsletter: Secure your SMBs: Tips on how to fend off dangerous phishing emails

06/18/2020 06:06:35 PM

Author's Note: As some countries eventually made their adjustments come the new normal as brought by the COVD-19 pandemic, small and medium businesses (SMBs) are warned against the dangers of phishing that make its way through emails.

That being said, the global cybersecurity company Kaspersky has listed some tips on how such scaled business firms would spare themselves from any possible perils of this cyberattack.

Read that more in the press release below:

Kaspersky blocks 56% increase on phishing attempts against SEA SMBs in Q1 2020

05/21/2020 11:07:44 AM

As the year 2020 has let us saw some of the surprisingly-worst tales of events unfolding right in our very eyes, here's a piece of news that delivers immediate concern, too: small and medium businesses need improved security capabilities as remote working continues. That came after Kasperksy's anti-phishing technology has been triggered for more than 800k times from the first three months (January to March 2020). 

Newsletter: Kaspersky urges companies to beef up cybersecurity as more employees work remotely

03/16/2020 10:05:00 PM 

Author's note: As the world of workspace enters the new landscape, cybersecurity brand Kaspersky is urging companies to further their IT security walls as more employees do their jobs outside the typical offices which also means cybercriminals do stand a chance to exploit public fear of rising COVID-19 cases through malware, phishing emails from CDC and WHO.

More of that story in this press release below. Please read:

Swipe right to avoid attacks: Cybercriminals hit dating apps

02/23/2020 12:18:04 PM

The hype of Valentine’s month also affects the world of cybersecurity as Kaspersky researchers evaluated the risks and challenges on the path to romance and found that cybercriminals are no strangers to love affairs.