Vade, a cybersecurity company that protects over 1.4 billion mailboxes, has released its annual Phishers’ Favorites report for 2023. In this report, Vade ranks the top 20 most impersonated brands in phishing. The report reveals that Facebook was the most impersonated brand in 2023, with a 74% increase in unique phishing websites compared to the previous year. This marks the third consecutive year that Facebook has claimed the top spot on the list.
The 2023 Year-in-Review report, which analyzed 197,000 phishing pages linked from unique phishing emails between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, reveals several key trends in phishing attacks. One notable trend is the significant increase in social media phishing, with the sector experiencing a 110% year-over-year rise in phishing URLs. Along with Facebook, other social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn also contributed to this increase. This surge in social media phishing comes as businesses rely more heavily on these platforms for sales, marketing, and recruiting.
The financial services industry, on the other hand, remained the most impersonated industry by hackers in 2023. With 32% of the overall total of unique phishing URLs, this sector continues to be a prime target for phishing attacks. Brands such as Crédit Agricole, SoftBank, Paypal, and Bank of America were among the top 10 most impersonated brands in the financial services sector.
In addition to social media and financial services, the cloud industry also saw an increase in unique phishing URLs in 2023. Microsoft, Google, and Netflix were among the leading cloud brands spoofed in phishing attacks. The sustained popularity of Microsoft and Google among hackers can be attributed to the growing demand for their productivity suite platforms, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, respectively.
The Phishers’ Favorites 2023 report also highlighted other key findings, including the abuse of legitimate services by hackers to bypass email security solutions, a rise in quishing attacks, and the flourishing of Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) marketplaces.
Vade, known for its AI-driven threat detection and response solutions for Microsoft collaboration suite, offers cybersecurity services for Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) and their Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The company’s flagship product, Vade for Microsoft 365, provides advanced protection against phishing, spear phishing, and malware, ensuring error-free configurations and rapid deployment. Vade has a global presence across eight locations, including the United States, France, Japan, Canada, and Israel, and is trusted by some of the world’s leading internet service providers and security solution providers.
To learn more about Vade and its cybersecurity solutions, visit www.vadesecure.com and follow the company on Twitter @vadesecure or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/vade-secure/.
In conclusion, the Phishers’ Favorites 2023 report sheds light on the evolving landscape of phishing attacks, emphasizing the need for robust cybersecurity solutions to combat the growing threat of cybercrime.