NOW more than ever, threat actors rely on several attack channels to steal from customers and harm businesses. According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, social media attacks rose by 83% from the start of the year until September. In addition, fraud-related social media threats accounted for most of the attacks encountered in Q3 2021.
In January 2021, the average target organization suffered nearly 34 attacks carried out through social media. In February, social media threats jumped up by 25% to 42 attacks per single enterprise.
In the second quarter of 2021, the average of attacks carried out through social media increased significantly. They grew from nearly 41 in April to about 49 threats in May and June per organization, a 20% increase.
In July, social media threats rose to 58 per enterprise. While the attack average fell slightly in August to 57, it reached its peak in September, with 61 threats being carried out through social media.
Some of the industries are particularly vulnerable to social media attacks.
Payment services companies experienced nearly 63% of all attacks carried out through social media. Industries that operate financial transactions are often targets for cybercriminals.
Broadcast media encountered 9% of the total attacks committed through social media in the third quarter of 2021. The reason behind threats is that online platforms are where media companies communicate with their audience the most.
Dating services were the target of about 5% of attacks carried out through social media. Threat actors have been exploiting single people in dating apps or websites for a long time.
The e-commerce industry experienced nearly 4% of the attacks done through social media. However, the percentage might increase significantly in Q4 as Black Friday and Christmas sales are incoming.
While social media allows us to communicate easier, they are also abused to carry out cyberattacks and commit fraud. As the attacks through social media are getting more sophisticated, business security teams should be more actively monitoring activities there and employing a set of rules to secure company and consumers’ information.
