Email-Based Vishing Attacks Skyrocket 554% as Phishing, Social Media and Malware Attacks Are All on the Rise

A new analysis of attacks in 2021 shows massive increases across the board, painting a very concerning picture for 2022 cyberattacks of all types.

New data from security vendor PhishLabs provides a sense of what last year’s state of cyberattacks looked like and unveils the increases in efforts by cybercriminals that we saw throughout 2021 looks like they’re here to stay for the time being.

According to the report:

• Phishing attacks grew by 28%
• Social Media-based threats grew by 103%
• Attacks with malware nearly tripled
• Vishing that begins with a phishing email jumped 554%
• 52% of phishing attacks focused on credential theft
• 38% of phishing attacks are response-based (e.g., job scams, tech support, BEC)
• Only 10% focused on malware delivery

The overarching theme here is that email is the delivery mechanism of choice – because it works. Organizations must put layered security measures in place to stop email-based attacks – keeping in mind that some percentage of malicious phishing emails will make their way to your user’s Inbox.

This means that users must also participate in your organization’s security strategy, interacting with emails with a sense of vigilance and skepticism should an email seem unexpected, suspicious, out of the norm, etc.

This can be taught with Security Awareness Training, where users see themselves as a part of the organization’s layered security, helping stop attacks before they do damage.

Information used in this article was provided by our partners at KnowBe4.