HR-themed phishing emails among most-clicked in Q2

Three of the top five QR codes that were scanned by employees referenced HR.

Scammers taking advantage of ‘human instinct’

Erich Kron, cybersecurity advocate, KnowBe4, said phishing emails that appear to originate from reputable sources will always have a higher chance of lowering a recipient’s suspicions.

“We see this time and time again in real-world scenarios, where attackers use sophisticated social engineering tactics to take advantage of this fundamental human instinct, making it harder for employees to distinguish legitimate and malicious emails,” Kron said in a statement.

A well-known cyberattack in Hong Kong involved a clerk who was duped into transferring HK$200 million after participating in a video conference where all other participants turned out to be AI-generated deepfake personas posing as colleagues.