The list of phishing incidents covers important or noteworthy events in the history of phishing.
The term "phishing" is said to have been coined by the well known spammer and hacker in the mid-90s, Khan C. Smith. [3] The first recorded mention of the term is found in the hacking tool AOHell (according to its creator), which included a function for attempting to steal the passwords or financial details of America Online users. [4] [5]
Year | Campaigns |
---|---|
2005 | 173,063 |
2006 | 268,126 |
2007 | 327,814 |
2008 | 335,965 |
2009 | 412,392 |
2010 | 313,517 |
2011 | 284,445 |
2012 | 320,081 |
2013 | 491,399 |
2014 | 704,178 |
2015 | 1,413,978 |
Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | 12,845 | 13,468 | 12,883 | 14,411 | 14,987 | 15,050 | 14,135 | 13,776 | 13,562 | 15,820 | 16,882 | 15,244 | 173,063 |
2006 | 17,877 | 17,163 | 18,480 | 17,490 | 20,109 | 28,571 | 23,670 | 26,150 | 22,136 | 26,877 | 25,816 | 23,787 | 268,126 |
2007 | 29,930 | 23,610 | 24,853 | 23,656 | 23,415 | 28,888 | 23,917 | 25,624 | 38,514 | 31,650 | 28,074 | 25,683 | 327,814 |
2008 | 29,284 | 30,716 | 25,630 | 24,924 | 23,762 | 28,151 | 24,007 | 33,928 | 33,261 | 34,758 | 24,357 | 23,187 | 335,965 |
2009 | 34,588 | 31,298 | 30,125 | 35,287 | 37,165 | 35,918 | 34,683 | 40,621 | 40,066 | 33,254 | 30,490 | 28,897 | 412,392 |
2010 | 29,499 | 26,909 | 30,577 | 24,664 | 26,781 | 33,617 | 26,353 | 25,273 | 22,188 | 23,619 | 23,017 | 21,020 | 313,517 |
2011 | 23,535 | 25,018 | 26,402 | 20,908 | 22,195 | 22,273 | 24,129 | 23,327 | 18,388 | 19,606 | 25,685 | 32,979 | 284,445 |
2012 | 25,444 | 30,237 | 29,762 | 25,850 | 33,464 | 24,811 | 30,955 | 21,751 | 21,684 | 23,365 | 24,563 | 28,195 | 320,081 |
2013 | 28,850 | 25,385 | 19,892 | 20,086 | 18,297 | 38,100 | 61,453 | 61,792 | 56,767 | 55,241 | 53,047 | 52,489 | 491,399 |
2014 | 53,984 | 56,883 | 60,925 | 57,733 | 60,809 | 53,259 | 55,282 | 54,390 | 53,661 | 68,270 | 66,217 | 62,765 | 704,178 |
2015 | 49,608 | 55,795 | 115,808 | 142,099 | 149,616 | 125,757 | 142,155 | 146,439 | 106,421 | 194,499 | 105,233 | 80,548 | 1,413,978 |
2016 | 99,384 | 229,315 | 229,265 | 121,028 | 96,490 | 98,006 | 93,160 | 66,166 | 69,925 | 51,153 | 64,324 | 95,555 | 1,313,771 |
2017 | 96,148 | 100,932 | 121,860 | 87,453 | 93,285 | 92,657 | 99,024 | 99,172 | 98,012 | 61,322 | 86,547 | 85,744 | 1,122,156 |
2018 | 89,250 | 89,010 | 84,444 | 91,054 | 82,547 | 90,882 | 93,078 | 89,323 | 88,156 | 87,619 | 64,905 | 87,386 | 1,040,654 |
2019 | 34,630 | 35,364 | 42,399 | 37,054 | 40,177 | 34,932 | 35,530 | 40,457 | 42,273 | 45,057 | 42,424 | 45,072 | 475,369 |
"APWG Phishing Attack Trends Reports" . Retrieved May 5, 2019.
Computer security, cybersecurity, digital security or information technology security is the protection of computer systems and networks from attacks by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, theft of, or damage to hardware, software, or data, as well as from the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks. These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive information, disrupt services, and cause financial or reputational harm to individuals, organizations, and governments.
Phishing is a form of social engineering and scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as ransomware. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and often transparently mirror the site being targeted, allowing the attacker to observe everything while the victim is navigating the site, and transverse any additional security boundaries with the victim. As of 2020, it is the most common type of cybercrime, with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reporting more incidents of phishing than any other type of computer crime.
.tk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific.
Email fraud is intentional deception for either personal gain or to damage another individual using email as the vehicle. Almost as soon as email became widely used, it began to be used as a means to defraud people, just as telephony and paper mail were used by previous generations.
A spoofed URL involves one website masquerading as another, often leveraging vulnerabilities in web browser technology to facilitate a malicious computer attack. These attacks are particularly effective against computers that lack up-to- security patches. Alternatively, some spoofed URLs are crafted for satirical purposes.
Email spoofing is the creation of email messages with a forged sender address. The term applies to email purporting to be from an address which is not actually the sender's; mail sent in reply to that address may bounce or be delivered to an unrelated party whose identity has been faked. Disposable email address or "masked" email is a different topic, providing a masked email address that is not the user's normal address, which is not disclosed, but forwards mail sent to it to the user's real address.
Voice phishing, or vishing, is the use of telephony to conduct phishing attacks.
Internet fraud prevention is the act of stopping various types of internet fraud. Due to the many different ways of committing fraud over the Internet, such as stolen credit cards, identity theft, phishing, and chargebacks, users of the Internet, including online merchants, financial institutions and consumers who make online purchases, must make sure to avoid or minimize the risk of falling prey to such scams.
Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is the data security standard created to help financial institutions process card payments securely and reduce card fraud.
Social hacking describes the act of attempting to manipulate outcomes of social behaviour through orchestrated actions. The general function of social hacking is to gain access to restricted information or to a physical space without proper permission. Most often, social hacking attacks are achieved by impersonating an individual or group who is directly or indirectly known to the victims or by representing an individual or group in a position of authority. This is done through pre-meditated research and planning to gain victims’ confidence. Social hackers take great measures to present overtones of familiarity and trustworthiness to elicit confidential or personal information. Social hacking is most commonly associated as a component of “social engineering”.
Cozy Bear, classified by the United States federal government as advanced persistent threat APT29, is a Russian hacker group believed to be associated with one or more intelligence agencies of Russia. The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) deduced from security camera footage that it is led by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR); this view is shared by the United States. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike also previously suggested that it may be associated with either the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) or SVR. The group has been given various nicknames by other cybersecurity firms, including CozyCar, CozyDuke, Dark Halo, The Dukes, NOBELIUM, Office Monkeys, StellarParticle, UNC2452, and YTTRIUM.
Fancy Bear is a Russian cyber espionage group. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has said with a medium level of confidence that it is associated with the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as security firms SecureWorks, ThreatConnect, and Mandiant, have also said the group is sponsored by the Russian government. In 2018, an indictment by the United States Special Counsel identified Fancy Bear as GRU Unit 26165. This refers to its unified Military Unit Number of the Russian army regiments. The headquarters of Fancy Bear and the entire military unit, which reportedly specializes in state-sponsored cyberattacks and decryption of hacked data, were targeted by Ukrainian drones on July 24, 2023, the rooftop on one of the buildings collapsed as a result of the explosion.
Lazarus Group is a cybercrime group made up of an unknown number of individuals run by the government of North Korea. While not much is known about the Lazarus Group, researchers have attributed many cyberattacks to them between 2010 and 2021. Originally a criminal group, the group has now been designated as an advanced persistent threat due to intended nature, threat, and wide array of methods used when conducting an operation. Names given by cybersecurity organizations include Hidden Cobra and Zinc. According to North Korean defector Kim Kuk-song, the unit is internally known in North Korea as 414 Liaison Office.
VR Systems is a provider of elections technology systems and software. VR Systems is based in Tallahassee, Florida. The company's products are used in elections in eight U.S. states. The company was founded in 1992 by Jane and David Watson. The CEO and President is Mindy Perkins.
Charming Kitten is an Iranian government cyberwarfare group, described by several companies and government officials as an advanced persistent threat.
On July 15, 2020, between 20:00 and 22:00 UTC, 130 high-profile Twitter accounts were reportedly compromised by outside parties to promote a bitcoin scam. Twitter and other media sources confirmed that the perpetrators had gained access to Twitter's administrative tools so that they could alter the accounts themselves and post the tweets directly. They appeared to have used social engineering to gain access to the tools via Twitter employees. Three individuals were arrested by authorities on July 31, 2020, and charged with wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and unauthorized computer access related to the scam.
The Nitro hacking attacks were a targeted malware campaign in 2011 suspected to be a case of corporate espionage. At least 48 confirmed companies were infected with a Trojan called Poison Ivy that transferred intellectual property to remote servers. Much of the information known about these attacks comes from a white paper published by cybersecurity company Symantec.
Between 2016 and 2021, multiple prepublication manuscripts were stolen via a phishing scheme that investigators believed were conducted by an industry insider or insiders. In 2022, the FBI arrested Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old Italian citizen living in London and working for Simon & Schuster.