--- title: "2021 Phishing Trends You Need To Be Wary Of | Phish Protection" description: "Social engineering is the technique of employing psychological methods and communication skills, generally by competitors and adversaries." image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of.png" canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of/" --- Quick Answer 2021 has shown an upward swing in the number of \*\*phishing incidents\*\*, which has become a worrisome trend for IT Security Managers. There had been a dip in \*\*phishing activities\*\* towards the end of the last year, mainly due to \[anti-phishing solutions\](/) used against such attempts. Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2F2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=2021%20Phishing%20Trends%20You%20Need%20To%20Be%20Wary%20Of&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2F2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2F2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2F2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of%2F&title=2021%20Phishing%20Trends%20You%20Need%20To%20Be%20Wary%20Of "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=2021%20Phishing%20Trends%20You%20Need%20To%20Be%20Wary%20Of&body=Check out this article: https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2F2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of%2F "Share via Email") ![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/08/anti-phishing-software-2647.jpg) _[Social engineering](/resources/protection-against-social-engineering-phishing-and-ransomware/) is the technique of employing psychological methods and communication skills_, generally by competitors and adversaries, to gather information about their competition or potential targets. However, with the advent of technology, sophistication has increased too. Modern-day [phishing exercises](/products/phishing-simulation/) are elaborate and require a concerted effort by security teams to create a firewall against them. _Falling into phishing traps often leads the organization to catastrophic consequences_. These activities are generally directed towards disrupting the network by planting malware or stealing information for future misuse. 2021 has shown an upward swing in the number of **phishing incidents**, which has become a worrisome trend for IT Security Managers. There had been a dip in **phishing activities** towards the end of the last year, mainly due to [anti-phishing solutions](/) used against such attempts. ### 2021 Phishing Trends You Need To Be Wary Of Here are the main [phishing trends](https://www.inky.com/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-watch-for) of this year that enterprises must seriously consider to strengthen their safeguards accordingly. #### Government Impersonators While there have always been **attempts to impersonate** government departments and officials, 2021 will see a jump in the percentage. It is because of the pandemic and the overall health crisis engulfing the planet. National governments are sending out more and more advisories to citizens and organizations concerning the pandemic. ![Anti phishing software](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/08/anti-phishing-software-2647.jpg) Impersonators will pose as government authorities and ask for personal details about health records and financial information. _COVID has provided them with a shield to approach vulnerable communities and ask for information in return for assistance_. #### COVID Donation _The pandemic has provided the scammers with a golden opportunity to ask for donations_. There have been plenty of instances whereby fake organizations have approached individuals and organizations requesting assistance to help those who cannot foot the medical bills. These websites are perfect examples of phishing. They record users’ keystrokes and steal personal details, and misuse them. To counter such nefarious designs, organizations must have **anti-phishing** and [anti-ransomware solutions](/products/malware-and-ransomware-protection/) in place. #### Cloud Breaches While _cloud computing does provide enterprises with added facilities for ease of usage_, the security aspect of the entire environment is still in the nascent stages. The malicious actors take advantage of several [vulnerabilities](https://towardsdatascience.com/7-cloud-computing-security-vulnerabilities-and-what-to-do-about-them-e061bbe0faee). Moreover, access control in some cloud environments is still not at par with what most organizations prefer. Hence, it becomes a nightmare for IT Security teams to provide security to proprietary information. But as technology marches forward, _cloud computing will acquire distinct characteristics with added layers of safety_. #### Lack Of Awareness _One of the most significant obstacles to network security is the clumsy attitude most organizations have towards **data security**_. From the smallest of businesses to the largest corporations, every entity is guilty of overlooking IT Security to some extent. Securing data is an expensive process that also requires a great deal of focus and diligence. Compromising it is not something any organization can afford. _Many organizations are also guilty of providing a mere cursory glance towards spreading awareness amongst their staff_, who ultimately become victims of **phishing acts**. Protecting one’s employees from falling prey to such acts is the responsibility of the organization. What most enterprises do is spend on anti-malware and email [phishing protection](/) tools and leave it at that. Organizations must aim to create adequate levels of [awareness in employees](/products/phishing-awareness-training/) to ensure they don’t fall victim to **phishing attacks**. #### Ransomware Attacks **Ransomware attacks** have [increased](https://hbr.org/2021/05/ransomware-attacks-are-spiking-is-your-company-prepared) tremendously in the last few years. These attacks infect networks and distribution systems of organizations by planting malware for disruption. Most [ransomware attacks](/resources/ransomware-attack-why-organizations-pay-ransom/) happen through **phishing emails**, which are innocuous-looking information but nefarious in their objectives. At times, even the best [phishing protection](/) fails to stop such emails from reaching their intended targets. The ideal way to counter them is usually three-pronged: [Employee awareness](/products/phishing-awareness-training/) and training, continuous monitoring of network traffic, and deploying the best [anti-malware solution](/products/malware-and-ransomware-protection/)s. There are numerous [phishing email examples](/resources/phishing-attacks-examples/) across domains that one can use for training purposes. #### Spear Phishing _[Spear phishing](/blog/spear-phishing-the-spooky-to-compromise-sensitive-information/) is the targeted form of phishing aimed at specific entities or individuals_. In one of its forms, the scammers target the head of facilities or the senior-most person to access secret information. **Impersonation of a CEO** or individuals who generally have access to every piece of knowledge of the organization has many benefits for the adversaries. ![Anti phishing solutions](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/08/anti-phishing-solutions-8547.jpg) More often than not, scammers get access to information that usually would have been tightly held. One of the major premises of social engineering is playing with the minds of individuals. _Malicious actors research thoroughly about their intended targets before approaching them_. #### Backdoor And Trojans As the [recent Office 365 scam](https://www.delta-net.com/blog/2021/06/data-phishing-scams-you-need-to-be-aware-of-june-2021) had amply demonstrated, _no tool or software is safe from illegal backdoor entries_. With remote work becoming the norm of the day due to the rampaging virus, scammers have started impersonating IT departments and approaching workers, asking them to hand over login credentials. They have also been _exploiting software vulnerabilities to gain illegal entry into the enterprise systems_. ### How To Stop Phishing Emails? As mentioned in the list above, the trend for 2021 looks ominous, and if organizations do not take serious action, it will probably be too late and disastrous. Besides investing in the [best phishing protection](/) tools, providing training to the staff is a major task. _IT Security teams must continually and optimally monitor systems_ for network traffic as there will always be loopholes that malicious actors will use for their benefit. One has to keep evolving with technology to maintain a secure environment for their organization. ### Final Words Phishing is one of the major challenges in the online world of the twenty-first century, and it is getting complex by the day. To face this menace, _organizations will have to focus on sharing information and pour in funds to create walls around their data_. Without a concerted effort, it will be challenging to address the **threat of phishing**, let alone eradicate it. ## Topics [ Phishing ](/tags/phishing/) ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg) [ Brad Slavin ](/authors/brad-slavin/) General Manager Founder and General Manager of DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across DuoCircle's 2,000+ customer base. [LinkedIn Profile →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin) ## Protect your inbox from phishing attacks Real-time email security with 60-day free trial. No credit card required. [Start Free Trial](https://portal.duocircle.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=101&brand=phishprotection) [View Pricing](/pricing/) ## Related Articles [ Foundational 5m 0ktapus, Okta Breach Helps Attackers Launch Sophisticated Supply Chain Attacks Sep 5, 2022 ](/blog/0ktapus-okta-breach-helps-attackers-launch-sophisticated-supply-chain-attacks/)[ Foundational 4m 13 Spear Phishing Attacks Examples To Justify Investment For Phishing Prevention Solutions In Your Organization Aug 1, 2019 ](/blog/13-spear-phishing-attacks-examples-to-justify-investment-for-phishing-prevention-solutions-in-your-organization/)[ Foundational 4m All 14 centers of Kettering Health were affected by a massive ransomware attack, Major outage in the Ohio medical center May 23, 2025 ](/blog/14-centers-of-kettering-health-were-affected-by-massive-ransomware-attack-in-ohio-medical-center/)[ Foundational 4m 300K vehicles and trip details exposed as NexOpt experienced a massive data breach! 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