Microsoft, Apple and Google are the most supplanted brands

Check Point Research’s late Microsoft, Apple and Google were the most supplanted companies by cybercriminals During the last quarter of 2024. According to the study, 32% of fraud attempts aimed Microsoft, while Apple and Google shared second place with 12% each.

This analysis, published by the Threat Intelligence Division of Check Point Software, highlights how Phishing attacks continue to use globally recognized brands to deceive users and steal personal and financial information. The technological sector was the most affected, followed by social networks and retail trade.

One of the most striking data of the report is the LinkedIn reappearance in rankingreaching fourth position with 11% of Phishing attempts. In addition, during the Christmas season, the cybercounts intensified their efforts creating fraudulent websites that imitated popular clothing brands such as Nike, Adidas and Hugo Boss. These platforms offered attractive prices to deceive victims and collect credentials and confidential data.

The report also points specific cases of fraudulent pages that simulate widely used services. For example, a domain was identified that replicated PayPal’s login page, another designed to resemble Facebook … both sites sought to deceive users to steal their login data, take possession of the accounts and, probably, use them to deceive contacts or blackmail owners to recover them

«The persistence of phishing attacks that take advantage of known brands underlines the importance of user education and advanced security measures. Verify email sources, avoid unknown links and enable multifactor authentication (MFA) are crucial steps to protect personal and financial data from these threats in constant evolution, ”explains Eusebio Nieva, technical director of Check Point Software for Spain and Portugal .

It is no accident that the three most represented companies are, in turn, The most used e-mail service providersand is that email is the input key – or recovery, as you look – to many other online services.

The ranking of more supplanted brands in Q4 2024 includes:

• Microsoft (32%)
• Apple (12%)
• Google (12%)
• LinkedIn (11%)
• Alibaba (4%)
• WhatsApp, Amazon, Twitter y Facebook (2%)
• Adobe (1%)

With these data, the report underlines the need for both companies and users to adopt proactive measures to prevent unauthorized access to their information. Cyber ​​-wing, far from decreasing, have become a persistent strategy of attackers, who take advantage of the confidence inspired by the best known brands, insist from Check Point.