Phishing attacks continue to increase in volume and sophistication, according to researchers at security firm Webroot
Phishing attacks are highly targeted, sophisticated, hard to detect and difficult for users to avoid, with 1.39 million new phishing sites created each month, say security researchers.
In May 2017, the number of new phishing sites reached a new high of 2.3 million in that month alone, according to the September 2017 Webroot Quarterly Threat Trends Report.
Data collected by Webroot shows that the latest phishing sites use realistic web pages that are almost impossible to find using web crawlers to trick victims into providing personal and business information.
Once this data is harvested, attackers are able to steal digital identities to access business IT systems to steal data and compromise business email accounts to carry out CEO fraud attacks.
The Webroot data also shows phishing attacks have grown at an unprecedented rate in 2017, with it continuing to be one of the most common, widespread security threats faced by both businesses and consumers.
According to the report, phishing is the top cause of cyber breaches in the world, with an average of more than 46,000 new phishing sites created each day.
The sheer volume of new sites makes phishing attacks difficult to defend against for businesses, the report said.
