How Does Phishing Look Like in 2017?

RapidVPN/ June 28, 2017/ Blog/

Despite the many efforts by anti-virus companies to come up with advanced software to protect their users from phishing threats, the cyber criminals continue to wreak havoc to millions of internet users. They have come up with new phishing techniques which could easily lure you to reveal the targeted personal information if you are not careful.

A report posted on Barkly.com reveals that phishing and ransomware work together to achieve the set goal. In 2016, the number of phishing emails containing a form that were sent out to unsuspecting users increased from 92% in the first quarter of the year to 97.25% in the third quarter. This year, 2017, the numbers are expected to skyrocket, and more people may fall prey to these attempts.

Google Doc Phishing is one of the latest phishing attempts that caught millions of people unaware. The hackers sent thousands of emails that contained a Google Docs link to the targets. Clicking on the link installs spyware into your computer automatically, or you are redirected to a phishing site where you are required to provide some personal information to complete the process.

According to Cybersecurity Market Report whose results are posted at CSO Online shows that spending on cyber security is expected to hit $1 trillion between 2017 and 2021. The reason for the high spending is due to increase in the cybercrime incidents and the sophisticated phishing techniques that are being used by the hackers. IT analysts and companies are unable to protect their systems from these attacks using the conventional or traditional protection measures.

During IBM Security Summit that was held in New York, President Ginni Rometty stated that data is the phenomenon of our time and world’s new and most important natural resources. Cyber security companies stand to benefit from the high demand for their services. In the third quarter of 2016, IGM recorded 18% growth in revenue. One of their main competitors, Cisco also posted 17% increase in security sales.

The bottom line is; cases of phishing have and will continue to grow unless robust measures are put in place to protect Internet users from the threats. Already, conferences are being held in various cities across the globe with the main objective been to increase awareness about this and other forms of cyber security threats. You also need to be careful about the links that you click as well as the websites that you visit to reduce the risk.