Study Reveals Phishing Victims Found to Lose More Than Breach Victims
Google conducted a yearlong study regarding the impacts of data breaches compared to phishing scams. The study found only 7% of individuals whose data was exposed due to a security breach, were still using the same password. Therefore, although the data was breached, cyber criminals are limited with what they can do with it. On the other hand, 25% of the credentials obtained via phishing scams were still valid and active. Why is this? Often times people do not know they have fallen victim to a phishing scam because the malware resides quietly within the device, obtaining data without the user’s knowledge.
Alternatively, security breaches are often publicly exposed. Therefore, users know to change their login credentials for accounts associated with the breached company.
Beyond the sneakiness of phishing attacks, additional risk factors include the plethora of data the phishing kits obtain. Many of the kits obtain the same information as what is within Google’s risk assessment. According to ZDNet this includes the user’s secret questions, geolocation, phone numbers, and device identifiers.
If you are uncertain if you have been infected with malware through a phishing scam, or any other method, run a security scan with your antivirus solution. After scanning, be sure to complete all suggested enhancements and/or changes. Once this is complete, restart your device.
If you are a PC Matic user and have any questions regarding the scanning process, you can reach out to our support team at www.pcmatic.com/help.
