Volume 343, Issue 3 · 9 articles from 2 issues
Zscaler data shows ransomware attacks with data theft rose 275% in 2026, with managers the most common victims.
KnowBe4 cites a Zscaler report finding ransomware attacks involving data theft surged 275% in 2026, with attackers exfiltrating more than 896.2 terabytes, over seven times the 2023-2024 amount, to strengthen extortion leverage.
Threat actors cite HIPAA, SEC disclosure rules and GDPR during negotiations to add pressure.
Most victims (62%) held managerial titles or above, reflecting social engineering aimed at higher-level employees.
KnowBe4's Cybersecurity Awareness Month week-two theme focuses on AI safety and spotting deepfakes.
For the second week of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, KnowBe4's spy-themed Workforce Risk Division campaign focuses on AI safety and deepfakes, explaining how generative AI gives attackers sophisticated ways to deceive users through synthetic voice, video and text.
The post argues recognizing deepfakes is now a critical skill for every employee, not just technical specialists.
KnowBe4 offers guidance for verifying suspicious requests and becoming a proactive frontline defender.
ReliaQuest reports a surge in vishing and Teams phishing by extortion groups like ShinyHunters posing as IT help desks.
KnowBe4 summarizes ReliaQuest observations of rising voice phishing and Microsoft Teams phishing from extortion groups such as ShinyHunters, whose attackers posed as internal IT support and used vishing, device-code phishing, external Teams impersonation, stolen tokens and attacker-controlled authentication methods.
Once inside, they used legitimate software and over-privileged accounts to collect data and move laterally.
Employees are urged to be wary of unsolicited tech support contacts, even from apparent coworkers.
Island researchers found a phishing platform posing as AI advertising tools to steal ad-account credentials and MFA codes.
KnowBe4 reports on Island research into a phishing campaign targeting employees who manage advertising accounts, in which the platform poses as a portfolio of AI advertising tools using Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Muse branding, adding a fake Muse lure days after Meta launched the agent.
Copy written in advertiser shorthand makes requests to connect accounts feel routine.
The pages harvest passwords and intercept multifactor authentication codes to take over accounts.
KnowBe4 warns of spoofed Calendly pages posing as Meta job interviews to steal Facebook and Google credentials and MFA codes.
KnowBe4 reports on a Malwarebytes finding that phishing sites are spoofing Calendly booking pages for supposed job interviews at Meta.
Victims are led to fake Facebook or Google login pages that steal their credentials and intercept multifactor authentication codes.
The page stays in contact with the attackers' server so they can try stolen passwords on the real site in real time.
KnowBe4 cites Comparitech data showing a record 2,627 ransomware attacks in Q3 2026, with education up 50%.
KnowBe4 reports on Comparitech research showing that Q3 2026 had the most ransomware attacks on record, at 2,627.
Attacks on education rose 50% from Q2, followed by healthcare at 39%, government at 36% and businesses at 27%.
Finance and technology saw the largest increases among business sectors.
US organizations accounted for 41% of attacks, a 34% increase from the prior quarter.
KnowBe4 warns that phishing campaigns use ICS calendar invites to plant lures on calendars and bypass security filters.
KnowBe4 cites Netcraft research showing that attackers are sending ICS calendar invite files to place phishing lures directly on users' calendars.
The invites often pose as work meetings and can stay on the calendar even after the original email is deleted.
The technique is now built into popular phishing kits such as EvilTokens, making it easier for unskilled attackers to use.
KnowBe4 cites Fortra data showing a 475% rise in phishing attacks that use RMM tools to target business banking accounts.
KnowBe4 cites Fortra research on a surge in hybrid phishing attacks that trick victims into installing remote monitoring and management tools.
The campaigns focus on North American financial institutions, especially business commercial banking accounts.
Fortra recorded 475% more RMM-based phishing attacks in the first nine months of 2026 than in all of the previous year.
Because RMM tools are legitimate, they often bypass basic security controls.
KnowBe4's Attempted Intelligence podcast debates the electricity, water, noise and economic impact of AI data centers.
KnowBe4 summarizes episode two of its Attempted Intelligence podcast, in which Matt Duren and Harlan Parrott debate AI data centers.
They framed the discussion around global versus local effects on electricity, water, noise and community economics.
Parrott noted that data centers used about 1.5% of global electricity in 2024.
Duren countered that data center demand grew 17% in 2025, far faster than overall electricity growth.