E-Business
How Cybercriminals Target Corporate email

Phishing attacks are among the most widespread and effective tactics used by cybercriminals against business.
These schemes aim to deceive employees into disclosing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data, by posing as legitimate sources.
While phishing attacks come in various forms, they often target corporate email systems due to the wealth of valuable information they hold. To assist businesses in bolstering their defenses against potential breaches, Kaspersky is unveiling the anatomy of a phishing attack.
According to Mimecast’s ‘The State of Email Security 2023’ report, 83% of CISOs surveyed see email as the primary source of cyberattacks. The recent case of Pepco Group demonstrated the severe consequences that phishing attacks can inflict on a business.
At the end of February, the retail company reported that its Hungarian subsidiary had fallen victim to a sophisticated phishing attack. As a result of this strike, Pepco Group lost approximately €15.5 million in cash. This incident highlights the expanding threat posed by cybercriminals, emphasising the critical need for organisations to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.
In 2023 Kaspersky’s anti-phishing system thwarted over 709 million attempts to access phishing and scam websites, marking a 40% increase compared to the previous year’s figures.
In response to this pressing issue, Kaspersky experts cover the way phishing attacks are conducted.
- Cybercriminals’ motivation
Phishing attacks stem from cybercriminals motivated by various factors. Primarily, they seek financial gain by unlawfully acquiring sensitive information like credit card details or login credentials, which can be sold or used for fraudulent transactions. Additionally, some are motivated by political or ideological agendas, or by the purpose of espionage. Despite the differing motivations, these attacks pose severe risks to businesses.
- The initial approach
Phishing attacks typically begin with cybercriminals crafting fraudulent emails designed to lure recipients into taking action. These emails often mimic legitimate communications from trusted sources, such as colleagues, business partners or reputable organisations. To enhance credibility, attackers may employ tactics like spoofing sender addresses or replicating corporate branding.
The situation is further exacerbated by the emergence of AI-powered phishing attacks, leveraging sophisticated algorithms to create highly convincing and personalised phishing emails. This exacerbates the challenge of detecting and combating such threats.
- Deceptive content and techniques
Central to the success of phishing attacks is the exploitation of human vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals leverage psychological manipulation techniques, compelling victims to act impulsively without thoroughly evaluating the email’s legitimacy.
Phishing emails employ various strategies to deceive recipients and elicit desired responses. Common techniques include:
False pretenses: Emails may claim urgency or importance, urging recipients to act quickly to avoid purported consequences or to seize perceived opportunities.
Social engineering: Attackers personalise emails and tailor messages that resonate with recipients’ interests, roles, or concerns, increasing the likelihood of drawing in the victim.
Malicious links and attachments: Phishing emails often contain links to fraudulent websites or malicious attachments designed to harvest credentials, install malware, or initiate unauthorised transactions.
- Evading detection
To evade detection by email security filters and anti-phishing solutions, cybercriminals consistently refine their tactics and adapt to evolving cybersecurity measures. They may employ obfuscation techniques, encryption methods, or URL redirection to bypass detection and enhance the effectiveness of their attacks.
- Consequences of successful phishing attacks
When phishing attacks succeed, the consequences can be severe for organisations. Breaches of corporate email systems can lead to unauthorised access to sensitive data, financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory non-compliance. Moreover, compromised email accounts can serve as footholds for further cyberattacks, such as Business Email Compromise (BEC) or data exfiltration.
Mitigation strategy
Safeguarding against phishing attacks targeting corporate email systems, means organisations must implement robust cybersecurity measures while educating employees about phishing awareness and best practices.
Effective mitigation strategies include employee training, the introduction of multi-factor authentication, the formulation of incident response plans, and the deployment of advanced email filtering and security solutions.
“In today’s dynamic threat landscape, businesses face an ever-growing array of cyber risks, with email-based attacks posing a particularly insidious threat. At Kaspersky, we recognise the critical importance of equipping organisations with robust cybersecurity solutions to help businesses defend themselves against these evolving threats.
“Our Kaspersky Security for Mail Server combines advanced content filtering capabilities with cutting-edge machine learning technology to provide unparalleled protection for corporate mail systems even against evolving AI-powered phishing attacks.
“By leveraging our solutions, businesses can proactively defend themselves against phishing attacks and other malicious threats, ensuring the security and integrity of their sensitive data,” comments Timofey Titkov, Head of Cloud & Network Security Product Line at Kaspersky.
E-Business
UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.
This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.
Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.
The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.
Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.
The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”
This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.
E-Business
Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.
Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.
Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.
NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.
“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.
“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”
To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.
Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.
“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”
E-Business
IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.
The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.
Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.
“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.
IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.
However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.
In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.
Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.
IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.
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