Hackers impersonating IT staff on the rise

Research by security company FireEye reveals that hackers are becoming much smarter in their methods to gain access to networks that they are trying to break into. According to ZDNet

Fresh FireEye research suggests that today’s cyberattackers are becoming smarter about the systems they seek to break, and are commonly using impersonation and social engineering to tap into the most common weakness in the security chain — employees.

Hackers impersonating IT staff rises from 44% to 78% of phishing scams

Social engineering, phishing campaigns and the impersonation of legitimate IT personnel are also on the rise. The security firm says that through 2014, FireEye observed hackers impersonating IT staff in 78 percent of phishing schemes directed at companies, in comparison to just 44 percent in the previous year.

Hackers continue to become more sophisticated

“As the events of 2014 demonstrated, there is no such thing as perfect security,” said Kevin Mandia, SVP and COO of FireEye. “Based on the incidents that Mandiant investigated in 2014, threat actors have continued to evolve, up their game, and utilise new tools and tactics to compromise organisations, steal data and cover their tracks.