According to a new report from Lookout, 2022 saw the highest rate of mobile phishing attacks in history, with half of mobile phone owners worldwide being exposed to such attacks very frequently.
The Global State of Mobile Phishing Report, published on March 1, 2023 by the security provider, revealed these findings.
Mobile phishing occurs when someone pretends to be a legitimate entity in order to gain access to your personal information. This can be done through messages , emails, or even over the phone. The scammer may try to convince you to give out sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, bank account, passwords , or even social security numbers. They may also try to convince you to click on links that will download malware to your device.
See also: A phishing attack can cost a business $1 million
The increased rate confirms a trend seen over the past three years. According to the report, mobile phishing attacks have been increasing steadily every quarter since the second quarter of 2020. This data only covers attacks on personal mobile phones.
Lookout also investigated the evolution of mobile phishing on corporate/business devices and found that since 2021 rates have increased by approximately 10% for corporate phones.
Sectors that have been a key target of attackers include insurance, banking and legal services, healthcare organizations, and financial institutions.
“Mobile phishing is one of the most effective tactics for stealing login credentials, which means it poses significant security and financial risk for organizations across every industry,” the report notes.
“It's possible that the rise of remote work has contributed to this, as organizations relax "bring-your-own-device" (BYOD) policies to accommodate employees accessing corporate networks outside the traditional security perimeter“.
See also: Phishing attacks are getting frighteningly sophisticated
Attacks are becoming increasingly complex
Lookout also observed that mobile phishing attacks are becoming increasingly “sly” and sophisticated.
“The share of users mobile click on more than six malicious links per yearincreased from 1.6% in 2020 to 11.8% in 2022, indicating that users are having difficulty distinguishing phishing emails from legitimate communications,” the report states.
Following the trend of the broader cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) market , which allows malware developers to provide their services as pre-built kits, attackers are gaining access to cheap, easy-to-use phishing kits that developers offer for sale on the dark web.
See also: NameCheap email hacked to send Metamask and DHL phishing messages
Additionally, non-email-based phishing attacks are also multiplying, with vishing, smishing (SMS), and quishing (QR code phishing) increasing sevenfold in the second quarter of 2022.
Mobile phishing attacks can cause huge damage, especially to businesses. Lookout estimated that the potential annual financial impact of mobile phishing on a 5,000-employee organization is nearly $4 million.
The report is based on data analyses conducted by Lookout on more than 210 million devices, 175 million apps, and four million URLs daily.
Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
