Phishing & Social Engineering

Security awareness tips, industry news, and product updates.

Group of new employees arriving at the office together at the start of September
Phishing & Social EngineeringSecurity Awareness Tips

New Hires, September Starts: The 90-Day Phishing Window

September brings the year's biggest wave of new starters - and attackers time their CEO impersonation campaigns to match. Why the first 90 days are the most phishable window of any tenure, and how to protect the whole incoming cohort.

Daniel Okafor·8/31/2026·5 min read
University students walking across campus with laptops and backpacks at the start of the semester
Phishing & Social EngineeringThreat Intelligence

Back-to-School Phishing Wave Hits the Education Sector

Every back-to-school season brings a surge of phishing aimed at schools, universities and students - and the lures land in corporate inboxes too. What the latest data shows and how to prepare your workforce before the wave peaks.

Lisa Brennan·8/25/2026·6 min read
New York financial district offices representing NYDFS-regulated entities subject to Part 500 training requirements
Phishing & Social EngineeringCompliance & Regulations

NYDFS Vishing Advisory: Part 500 Training Expectations

NYDFS has told regulated financial entities, in writing, to train staff against help-desk vishing attacks. Combined with the fully effective Part 500 amendment and a record enforcement run, targeted social-engineering training is now a supervisory expectation in New York.

Rachel Andersen·8/24/2026·5 min read
Employee reading a text message on a smartphone at work
Phishing & Social EngineeringThreat Intelligence

Mishing: Why Attackers Build Phishing for Your Phone

Attackers now purpose-build phishing for smartphones, where desktop email defenses cannot see and distracted users tap first. Research shows smishing drives 69.3 percent of mobile phishing - and iPhones are not the safe haven many assume.

David Kowalski·8/21/2026·5 min read
Laptop screen showing an email inbox with file attachments
Phishing & Social EngineeringThreat Intelligence

SVG Attachment Phishing Surges Fifty-Fold, Research Finds

New 2026 research shows malicious SVG attachments have grown fifty-fold, becoming the third most common malicious attachment type. Here is why an image file can phish you - and what to change in your filters, policies and simulations.

Rachel Andersen·8/19/2026·5 min read
Exterior of a modern law firm office building where professional-services firms operate
Phishing & Social EngineeringThreat Intelligence

Luna Moth Escalates: FBI Alert, Leak Site, $20M Demands

The Luna Moth extortion crew escalated sharply in May and June 2026: an FBI FLASH alert, a leak site listing roughly 100 victims, reported $20 million ransom demands and attackers walking into law firm offices in person.

Sarah Mitchell·8/17/2026·6 min read
Tax forms and a calculator on a desk during tax filing season
Phishing & Social EngineeringSecurity Awareness Tips

ELSTER Tax Phishing Wave Hits Germany in Summer 2026

US tax-authority phishing surged over 400 percent in 2026, and fake ELSTER refund mails are landing while German employees file their 2025 returns. The core lesson for staff: the Finanzamt never emails your refund.

Natalie Hoffmann·8/15/2026·5 min read
Employee using an AI chatbot assistant on a laptop in an office
Phishing & Social EngineeringSecurity Awareness Tips

AI Brand Phishing: ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude as Lures

Microsoft has documented phishing campaigns impersonating ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, and DeepSeek - lures built for employees who use AI tools every day. It is a new template family your simulations should cover.

Thomas Eriksson·8/14/2026·5 min read
Mail server infrastructure powering authenticated phishing simulation delivery
Phishing & Social EngineeringProduct Updates

Dedicated Sending and Tracking Domains for Phishing Tests

Realistic phishing simulations only work if the emails actually arrive. empowsec provisions a dedicated, fully authenticated sending domain for every company in one click - SPF, DKIM and DMARC included - and tells you exactly which IPs to allow-list.

Sarah Mitchell·8/12/2026·5 min read
Person reading a suspicious text message notification on a smartphone
Phishing & Social EngineeringThreat Intelligence

Google Sues AI Smishing Network Behind Billions in Fraud

Google has filed a RICO lawsuit against the AI-powered 'Outsider' smishing network, exposing an industrialized text-scam economy that rents for 88 dollars a week. Here is what the case means for employee awareness on mobile.

James Thornton·8/10/2026·6 min read
« Previous12345Next »