Phishing Attacks in 2024: New Tactics and How to Stay Ahead
Over the past few years, phishing tactics have become even more sophisticated, and 2024 hasn’t seen cyber criminals show any sign of slowing down. This year, malicious actors have been taking advantage of technologies like AI and automation to fool their victims and break into networks. With attackers turning to new, more tailored approaches, today’s organisations need to stay aware of these evolving threats if they want to avoid falling victim to phishing attacks in 2024 – and beyond.
The Evolution of Phishing
Phishing has come a long way from the days of poorly worded emails and obvious scams. These days, attackers have embraced AI-powered tools with open arms. These allow them to craft highly convinced methods, and launch automated attacks at a greater scale than ever before. Although phishing attacks in 2024 are more believable than ever – there are some key tactics and methods that you should be watching out for.
AI-Generated Content
Criminals are increasingly turning to AI tools, such as language models and deepfake technology, to produce highly convincing messages. Thanks to generative AI, these emails and text messages can closely mimic the tone and appearance of legitimate communications, and victims are more likely to believe they’re reading something from a trusted source. Unlike traditional phishing messages, which can be easy to spot thanks to spelling mistakes or awkward phrases, these AI-generated messages are harder to spot. This makes it more likely that people will click on malicious links or download malware – research published this year showed that one in five people are likely to click on content in AI-written phishing emails.
Voice Phishing
Voice phishing, otherwise known as ‘vishing,’ has evolved into a sophisticated threat in recent years. Attackers are now using deepfake audio – and even video – to impersonate people and trick their victims. By creating realistic audio clips that sound like trusted figures, they can manipulate employees into transferring funds or revealing sensitive information like passwords. This approach is incredibly effective because these messages sound convincing – even to people who’ve been trained to recognise phishing attempts like these. When employees hear from someone in authority, they’re more likely to feel pressured and so won’t question the message, which makes vishing a serious security risk to watch out for.
Spear Phishing
Spear phishing is a more targeted form of phishing, in which attackers will hone in on high-value individuals, and will often use AI-powered tools to gather information about them. Instead of casting out a wide net and sending out generic emails to hundreds or thousands of people, attackers will instead conduct reconnaissance on their targets. They’ll scan their social media and professional networks in order to better understand their victims. This helps them craft personalised messages – which are often designed to look like urgent requests from colleagues or customers. These are harder for victims to identify as phishing messages because they seem legitimate, making it easier for attackers to deceive their targets.
Automated Phishing Bots
These bots can engage with targets in real time, making phishing attempts feel like genuine conversations. The bots are interactive and can respond to replies from targets, seeming more natural and building trust with the victim. By changing their language based on the victim’s answers, the phishing bots seem more realistic, and can manipulate unsuspecting users into accidentally revealing sensitive information. Since these bots have such a high level of personalisation and adaptability, they’re particularly dangerous – victims may not even realise they’re not interacting with a person.
The Impact of Recent Phishing Attacks in 2024
A number of recent phishing incidents have highlighted the need for heightened vigilance. For example, in February this year, the retailer Pepco Group lost €15.5 million in a business email compromise (BEC) attack, after criminals used social engineering to trick employees into transferring funds. As well as using AI tools, cyber criminals have also been impersonating AI companies – in October, researchers uncovered a large-scale campaign targeting OpenAI’s customers. They sent out over a thousand emails that had been designed to mimic OpenAI’s, and were urgently requesting payment information.
Just this month, researchers at Check Point discovered a new phishing campaign they’ve dubbed CopyRh(ight)adamantys. The attackers have been impersonating legitimate companies, and claiming the victims have violated copyright on social media. The campaign, which has targeted multiple industries around the world, uses spear-phishing emails and automated tools to generate the phishing content. Incidents like these show how varied phishing attacks in 2024 can be, as well as the need for more robust cyber security measures.
Staying Ahead of Phishing Attacks
To stay ahead of phishing attacks in 2024, businesses should consider a more proactive cyber security strategy. Continuous employee training is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of falling victim to a phishing attack. By educating staff on the latest phishing tactics and conducting simulations, you can prepare your employees to identify suspicious messages. Businesses should also integrate AI-powered solutions into their defences, to detect and block phishing attempts in real-time. These tools can analyse emails and identify malicious content before it even has a chance to reach a user.
Infosec K2K can help by recommending and deploying AI-driven tools that monitor communications and detect threats automatically, offering your business an extra layer of protection. A Zero Trust security model is also key to defending yourself from phishing attacks. By assuming that all requests – whether they’re coming from inside or outside your network – are malicious, you can limit who can access your sensitive data, and reduce the risk of a phishing attack. At Infosec K2K, we help businesses to implement IAM frameworks (a key part of Zero Trust), ensuring their information is protected from unauthorised access.
Staying One Step Ahead
Phishing attacks in 2024 are more subtle – and more dangerous – than ever, thanks to AI. To stay ahead, organisations should be proactive and keep updated on the latest phishing tactics and tools. By understanding what to watch out for, and ensuring your team is prepared for the most advanced attacks, you can protect your organisation and your data – and Infosec K2K can help you every step of the way.
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