Websense security says that businesses can stop 95-99% of spear-phishing attempts by educating employees; inbound email sandboxing and inspecting web traffic in real-time.
Recently, email subject lines in phishing attacks have been security related in order to persuade receivers to click on a link.
"Spear-phishing is becoming more and more prevalent in the workplace," said Carl Leonard, EMEA senior security research manager at Websense. "IT security professionals are growing increasingly concerned with these attack methods as they continue to evolve. Early detection and educating your employees will help secure your data and thwart these advanced attacks."
Websense has created lists of the top phishing email subject lines, days of the week and countries which host phishing URLs.
Top five phishing email subject lines:
*Based on July – September 2012 research
1. Your account has been accessed by a third party
2. (Bank Name) Internet Banking Customer Service Message
3. Security Measures
4. Verify your activity
5. Account security Notification
Top 10 countries hosting phishing URLs:
*Based on September 2011-September 2012 research
1. United States
2. Canada
3. Bahamas
4. Egypt
5. Germany
6. United Kingdom
7. Netherlands
8. France
9. Brazil
10. Russian Federation
Top phishing days of the week:
*Based on September 2011-September 2012 research
1. Friday (38.5%)
2. Monday (30%)
3. Sunday (10.9%)
4. Thursday (6.5%)
5. Tuesday (5.8%)
6. Wednesday (5.2%)
7. Saturday (3.2%)
