Kaspersky Lab: In the second quarter of 2017, cybercriminals were actively engaged in distributing spam messages, seeking to capitalize on public fears when the WannaCry ransomware outbreak broke out in May. Knowing that there are many people infected with this ransomware and looking for ways to obtain their encrypted data, scammers sent spam and phishing messages, offering users various services to combat the outbreak. 
This is one of the key findings of Kaspersky Lab 's "Spam and phishing in Q2 2017" report .
The WannaCry ransomware attack affected more than 200,000 computers worldwide, causing a huge panic, and spammers immediately seized the opportunity. Researchers detected a large number of messages offering services such as protection against WannaCry attacks, data recovery, and, in addition, educational workshops and courses for users. In addition, spammers successfully implemented a traditional scheme of fraudulently offering to install software updates on attacked computers. However, the links redirected users to phishing websites , aiming to steal their personal data.
One of the main trends over the past three months is the number of mass mailings targeting corporate networks. According to Kaspersky Lab research, these have expanded since the beginning of the year. Spammers began to widely “disguise” malicious emails as corporate dialogues, using the identities of corporate mail services, including real signatures, logos and even banking information. In the files attached to the email, cybercriminals sent exploit kits aimed at stealing FTP, email and other passwords.
Kaspersky Lab experts emphasize that most attacks in the corporate sector have financial goals.
Additionally, in the second quarter of the year, researchers detected an increase in the number of mass mailings with malicious Trojans, sent on behalf of international delivery services.
Spammers were sending shipment reports with information about non-existent luggage deliveries. Aiming to infect computers or steal personal login credentials, criminals were found spreading download links with malware, including the banking Trojan Emotet, which was first detected in 2014. Overall, the volume of malicious mass mailings increased by 17%, according to a new report from Kaspersky Lab.
“In the second quarter of the year, we saw that the main trends in spam and phishing attacks continued to evolve. The use of WannaCry in mass mailings proves that cybercriminals are very careful and react quickly to international events. In addition, cybercriminals began to focus more on the B2B sector, considering it profitable. We expect this trend to continue to develop and the overall number of corporate attacks and their variety will expand,” said Darya Gudkova, Spam Analyst Expert at Kaspersky Lab.
Other important trends and statistics for the second quarter, highlighted by Kaspersky Lab researchers, include the following:
• The average spam rate has increased to 56.97%. Vietnam became the most popular source of spam, surpassing the US and China. The top 10 countries include Russia, Brazil, France, Iran and the Netherlands.
• The Necurs botnet is still active. However, experts have noted a decrease in the volume of spam sent by this botnet and its instability.
• The country most targeted by malicious email attacks was Germany. The previous leader, China, came in second, followed by the UK, Japan and Russia. Other popular targets include Brazil, Italy, Vietnam, France and the US.
• Kaspersky Lab Anti-Phishing system was activated 46,557,343 times on Kaspersky Lab users' computers. The largest percentage of users attacked was in Brazil (18.09%). Overall, 8.26% of unique users of Kaspersky Lab products worldwide were attacked by phishing.
• As in the first quarter, the main targets of electronic phishing attacks remained the same and mainly come from the financial sector: banks, payment services and online stores.
More information about spam and phishing in the second quarter of 2017 can be found on the dedicated website Securelist.com.
