23-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) has revealed a significant increase in phishing attempts, with approximately 8,500 reports received in 2022, marking a surge of 175% compared to the 3,100 attempts reported in 2021. This trend aligns with global patterns, as highlighted in CSA’s Singapore Cyber Landscape 2022 report published on Friday (Jun 23).
The heightened cyber threat environment last year was attributed to geopolitical conflicts and opportunistic cybercriminal activities following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, stated Mr. David Koh, Singapore’s first Commissioner of Cybersecurity and CSA’s Chief Executive. The agency emphasized that the Russia-Ukraine conflict, along with financial pressures and rising living costs, created economic hardships that threat actors exploited through phishing attacks.
CSA noted that threat actors capitalized on psychological vulnerabilities, with potential victims more inclined to explore opportunities to overcome personal financial shortfalls. Furthermore, organizations, perceiving cybersecurity budgets as non-essential, may have scrutinized and reduced their cybersecurity expenditure.
While emerging technologies such as Chatbots present opportunities, CSA’s Mr. Koh cautioned about managing the accompanying risks. He emphasized the government’s commitment to bolstering cybersecurity efforts and called on businesses and individuals to play their part in securing Singapore’s cyberspace to fully harness the benefits of the digital future.
“SPRAY AND PRAY”
Phishing, a social engineering technique that impersonates legitimate individuals or reputable organizations in digital communications to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, featured URLs ending with “.xyz” in over half of the reported phishing cases. Threat actors favored this domain due to its low cost and limited usage restrictions, according to CSA.
Banking and financial services constituted the most commonly spoofed sector, accounting for more than 80% of all phishing attempts targeting organizations. CSA highlighted that nearly half of the banking-related phishing attempts in 2022 involved China-based banks.
CSA observed a sharp rise in phishing reports coinciding with a fraud scandal involving rural banks in China in June of the previous year. The report noted that some of these banks, such as Agricultural Bank of China, Zhongyuan Bank, and China Minsheng Bank, had little to no presence in Singapore’s retail banking scene and were unknown to most retail banking customers. CSA suggested that threat actors employed the “spray and pray” tactic, capitalizing on anxieties and concerns surrounding developments in China’s banking sector.
Singapore’s government and the logistics sector, particularly SingPost, rounded out the top three most commonly spoofed sectors.
CSA’s Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) played a vital role in taking down more than 2,900 malicious phishing sites last year.
RANSOMWARE REMAINS A MAJOR CONCERN
CSA also highlighted ransomware as a significant concern in Singapore, with an average of one case reported every three days. Although the number of reported ransomware cases slightly decreased to 132 in 2022, it remained alarmingly high, according to the agency.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in sectors like manufacturing and retail were particularly vulnerable to ransomware attacks due to their possession of valuable data and intellectual property, coupled with limited resources dedicated to countering cyber threats, noted CSA. To address this issue, the agency plans to launch a scheme in the third quarter of 2023, offering subsidized cybersecurity consultancy services and tailored cybersecurity health plans specifically designed for SMEs.
Under this scheme, cybersecurity consultants will assume the role of chief information security officers for SMEs facing manpower constraints in hiring cybersecurity personnel.
