Phishing Emails Are More Believable Than Ever. Here's What To Do About It
Fortinet News, Monday, October 9,2023
Phishing isn't new. This social engineering tactic has existed in attackers' toolboxes for decades, with threat actors posing as trusted contacts and then targeting unsuspecting victims through email or text messages to steal sensitive data.
There are plenty of data points that illustrate the effectiveness of this attack method. According to the Fortinet 2023 Global Ransomware Report, phishing is the top tactic (56%) malicious actors use to infiltrate a network and launch ransomware successfully.
While malicious actors always attempt to craft legitimate-looking phishing communications, some cybercriminals excel at this more than others. Historically, phishing communications have often been easy to spot because of careless drafting, with a lot of spelling errors and incorrect grammar.
Yet as AI-driven content tools become more broadly available at low or no cost, cybercriminals are turning to these technologies to advance their operations. One way they're doing this is by using AI to make their phishing emails and text messages appear more realistic than ever before, increasing the chances they'll succeed at getting their unsuspecting victims to click on a malicious link.