Latest news with #SiggiStefnisson
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report Reveals AI-Driven Scams Redefining Cybercrime
Press Release – Gen Auckland, 29 May, 2025 — Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more, today released its Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report, highlighting the most significant shifts shaping the global Cyber Safety landscape observed between January and March 2025. Key report findings include a 186% surge in breached personal information, a 466% increase in phishing reports, growth in fake browser update scams by 17 times the previous quarter's levels, and more than 4 million people protected from Scam-Yourself Attacks, alongside the rise of mobile financial fraud and crypto-related US presidential inauguration scams. 'Online threats are evolving at a startling pace,' said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. 'Attackers are moving away from broad, indiscriminate campaigns to highly personalised, AI-enhanced deception. Breached data and AI tools are giving cybercriminals just enough personal information and design sophistication to more easily manipulate people. That's why we constantly evolve our cybersecurity solutions to be an interactive partner in fighting scams and to be one step ahead of cybercriminals.' Notable Trends from the Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report: Data Breaches Escalate Data breaches are on the rise, with a 36% increase in the number of breaches faced by companies compared to last quarter. Individual breached records surged by more than 186%, revealing sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and credit card details. Attackers employed more advanced infostealers like Lumma Stealer, making data compromise faster and harder to detect. Phishing Scams Designed to Bypass Security Filters Reports of phishing scams rose by a staggering 466% compared to the previous quarter, now making up nearly 32% of all scam submissions to the Norton Genie scam detector. According to the Norton Genie scam detector platform, phishing is the fastest-growing threat, second only to generic scams, which accounted for 51% of reports. The good news is that people are becoming more wary of potential phishing scams and reporting these messages. Telemetry data reveals a growing number of phishing campaigns that abuse dynamic DNS services and subdomain providers, as well as free website builders to create deceptive login pages. This means, that by mimicking legitimate login portals and leveraging trusted domains—like recent scams targeting AT&T, Telstra and Xfinity customers—attackers make phishing attempts harder to detect and more likely to succeed. Many of these campaigns create a sense of urgency for potential victims through emails claiming account issues or prompting people to review sensitive documents. Despite sometimes being poorly written, the use of familiar platforms and subdomain tricks allows these scams to bypass security filters and remain highly effective. Scam-Yourself Attacks and Fake Browser Updates on the Rise Example of a Fake Update popup in Firefox. The fake update mimics the branding, language, and layout of legitimate software. It often uses urgent language like: 'Your version is out of date, click to update now!' Gen helped protect over 4 million users from Scam-Yourself Attacks in which individuals, through sophisticated deception, are manipulated into infecting their own devices. In one of the most striking evolutions of this type of scam that we observed this quarter, attackers are using AI-generated personas, deepfake influencers and hired actors. They use these personas to deliver their malicious campaigns. This is primarily done through compromised YouTube accounts, leveraging interactive FakeCAPTCHAs and asking people to verify they are human but instead guiding them to give device permissions or download malware. Fake Update Scams grew to over 17 times last quarter's level. This type of Scam-Yourself Attack tricks people into installing malware under the guise of browser updates. Financial Threats Thrive on Mobile and Crypto Mobile financial threats continued to rise, fuelled by increasingly sophisticated tactics that target people directly through their smartphones. Malware, like banking trojans, now exploit accessibility features to overlay fake login pages, stealing sensitive data such as crypto wallet credentials. Combined with an uptick in credit and transaction fraud alerts, there's a growing trend of attackers focusing on mobile devices as gateways to people's financial lives. Digital currencies continue to be a target for financial threats. CryptoCore executed one of its most successful campaigns in early 2025, hinging on the US presidential inauguration. Attackers leveraged deepfake videos of public figures spread through compromised YouTube accounts to steal close to $4 million spread through more than 2,000 transactions. Gen is always innovating to stay one step ahead of today's evolving cyberthreats. Our trusted family of brands offers powerful solutions to help keep you safe—LifeLock helps people protect their identity, the Norton Cyber Safety lineup comes equipped with Norton Genie scam protection, and products like Avast Mobile Security offer protection for mobile devices, just to name a few. To learn more about the latest Cyber Safety tips and solutions, visit our blog at About Gen Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report Reveals AI-Driven Scams Redefining Cybercrime
Press Release – Gen Example of a Fake Update popup in Firefox. The fake update mimics the branding, language, and layout of legitimate software. It often uses urgent language like: Your version is out of date, click to update now! Auckland, 29 May, 2025 — Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more, today released its Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report, highlighting the most significant shifts shaping the global Cyber Safety landscape observed between January and March 2025. Key report findings include a 186% surge in breached personal information, a 466% increase in phishing reports, growth in fake browser update scams by 17 times the previous quarter's levels, and more than 4 million people protected from Scam-Yourself Attacks, alongside the rise of mobile financial fraud and crypto-related US presidential inauguration scams. 'Online threats are evolving at a startling pace,' said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. 'Attackers are moving away from broad, indiscriminate campaigns to highly personalised, AI-enhanced deception. Breached data and AI tools are giving cybercriminals just enough personal information and design sophistication to more easily manipulate people. That's why we constantly evolve our cybersecurity solutions to be an interactive partner in fighting scams and to be one step ahead of cybercriminals.' Notable Trends from the Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report: Data Breaches Escalate Data breaches are on the rise, with a 36% increase in the number of breaches faced by companies compared to last quarter. Individual breached records surged by more than 186%, revealing sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and credit card details. Attackers employed more advanced infostealers like Lumma Stealer, making data compromise faster and harder to detect. Phishing Scams Designed to Bypass Security Filters Reports of phishing scams rose by a staggering 466% compared to the previous quarter, now making up nearly 32% of all scam submissions to the Norton Genie scam detector. According to the Norton Genie scam detector platform, phishing is the fastest-growing threat, second only to generic scams, which accounted for 51% of reports. The good news is that people are becoming more wary of potential phishing scams and reporting these messages. Telemetry data reveals a growing number of phishing campaigns that abuse dynamic DNS services and subdomain providers, as well as free website builders to create deceptive login pages. This means, that by mimicking legitimate login portals and leveraging trusted domains—like recent scams targeting AT&T, Telstra and Xfinity customers—attackers make phishing attempts harder to detect and more likely to succeed. Many of these campaigns create a sense of urgency for potential victims through emails claiming account issues or prompting people to review sensitive documents. Despite sometimes being poorly written, the use of familiar platforms and subdomain tricks allows these scams to bypass security filters and remain highly effective. Scam-Yourself Attacks and Fake Browser Updates on the Rise Example of a Fake Update popup in Firefox. The fake update mimics the branding, language, and layout of legitimate software. It often uses urgent language like: 'Your version is out of date, click to update now!' Gen helped protect over 4 million users from Scam-Yourself Attacks in which individuals, through sophisticated deception, are manipulated into infecting their own devices. In one of the most striking evolutions of this type of scam that we observed this quarter, attackers are using AI-generated personas, deepfake influencers and hired actors. They use these personas to deliver their malicious campaigns. This is primarily done through compromised YouTube accounts, leveraging interactive FakeCAPTCHAs and asking people to verify they are human but instead guiding them to give device permissions or download malware. Fake Update Scams grew to over 17 times last quarter's level. This type of Scam-Yourself Attack tricks people into installing malware under the guise of browser updates. Financial Threats Thrive on Mobile and Crypto Mobile financial threats continued to rise, fuelled by increasingly sophisticated tactics that target people directly through their smartphones. Malware, like banking trojans, now exploit accessibility features to overlay fake login pages, stealing sensitive data such as crypto wallet credentials. Combined with an uptick in credit and transaction fraud alerts, there's a growing trend of attackers focusing on mobile devices as gateways to people's financial lives. Digital currencies continue to be a target for financial threats. CryptoCore executed one of its most successful campaigns in early 2025, hinging on the US presidential inauguration. Attackers leveraged deepfake videos of public figures spread through compromised YouTube accounts to steal close to $4 million spread through more than 2,000 transactions. Gen is always innovating to stay one step ahead of today's evolving cyberthreats. Our trusted family of brands offers powerful solutions to help keep you safe—LifeLock helps people protect their identity, the Norton Cyber Safety lineup comes equipped with Norton Genie scam protection, and products like Avast Mobile Security offer protection for mobile devices, just to name a few. To learn more about the latest Cyber Safety tips and solutions, visit our blog at About Gen Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at
Techday NZ
6 days ago
- Techday NZ
AI-fuelled scams & phishing soar in New Zealand, says Gen
Gen has released its Q1/2025 Threat Report, highlighting a substantial increase in AI-driven, highly personalised cyber threats impacting New Zealand and global internet users. According to the report, breached data sets and the growing availability of AI tools are enabling cybercriminals to craft more sophisticated and convincing attacks, with New Zealand identified as one of the nations most affected by these developments. Fake update scams, where fraudulent browser update notifications are used to trick individuals into installing malware, have surged dramatically. In New Zealand, such scams increased by over 11,000% in terms of blocked attacks. Globally, there was a 1,711% increase in risk associated with these fake update scams compared to the previous quarter. Alongside scams involving fraudulent browser updates, other prevalent threats in New Zealand during the first quarter of 2025 included malvertising, phishing, romance and e-commerce scams, adware, and what Gen refers to as "Scam-Yourself Attacks." These attacks often use social engineering to manipulate individuals into infecting their own devices. The report also recorded a significant global rise in breached personal information, with a 186% increase in exposed data such as passwords, emails, and credit card numbers. In New Zealand, incidents involving infostealers—a type of malware that targets personal and financial information—rose by 137% in the quarter. These include advanced threats like password stealers and banking trojans targeting credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, and instant payment systems. Gen stated it helped protect over 4 million people worldwide from Scam-Yourself Attacks in the quarter. This attack vector is increasingly being powered by AI-generated personas, deepfake influencers, and even hired actors, who are used to convince users—sometimes via compromised YouTube accounts—to install malware, engage with fake CAPTCHAs, or grant unnecessary device permissions. "Online threats are evolving at a startling pace," said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. "Attackers are moving away from broad, indiscriminate campaigns to highly personalised, AI-enhanced deception. Breached data and AI tools are giving cybercriminals just enough personal information and design sophistication to more easily manipulate people. That's why we constantly evolve our cybersecurity solutions to be an interactive partner in fighting scams and to be one step ahead of cybercriminals." The Gen report notes a 36% increase in the number of company data breaches compared to the previous quarter, with attackers employing advanced infostealers such as Lumma Stealer. These tools make data compromise faster and harder to detect for individuals and organisations alike. Phishing remains a significant concern with reports to the Norton Genie scam detector platform rising by 466% compared to the previous quarter. Nearly 32% of all scam submissions were related to phishing, making it the fastest-growing threat after generic scams. "Phishing is the fastest-growing threat, second only to generic scams, which accounted for 51% of reports. The good news is that people are becoming more wary of potential phishing scams and reporting these messages," the report states. Phishing campaigns are increasingly using dynamic DNS services, subdomain providers, and free website builders to host deceptive login portals, mimicking trusted brands and creating a false sense of security. An observed trend is the use of urgent messages claiming account issues or prompting users to review sensitive documents, which increases the effectiveness of these scams even if the language is poorly written. Use of familiar domains allows these phishing attempts to bypass security filters more readily. Fake update scams have grown to over 17 times their frequency from the prior quarter. Gen describes how these attacks mimic the branding, language, and layout of genuine software updates, often displaying messages such as: "Your version is out of date, click to update now!" to increase the likelihood of user interaction. On the financial threat front, mobile financial crime, particularly on smartphones, continued to grow. Attackers use malware and banking trojans that exploit accessibility features to overlay counterfeit login pages, stealing sensitive information like cryptocurrency wallet credentials. The report underscores a rise in credit and transaction fraud alerts as attackers increasingly view mobile devices as entry points to financial data. Digital currencies also remain a prime target. In early 2025, the cybercrime group CryptoCore was able to steal close to USD $4 million through over 2,000 transactions by using deepfake videos of public figures on compromised YouTube accounts, timed around the US presidential inauguration. Gen has reiterated that it will continue to evolve its cybersecurity offerings to address the shifting threat landscape. Its range of solutions includes identity protection through LifeLock, scam detection via Norton Genie, and mobile device protection with Avast Mobile Security.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report Reveals AI-Driven Scams Redefining Cybercrime
Auckland, 29 May, 2025 — Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more, today released its Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report, highlighting the most significant shifts shaping the global Cyber Safety landscape observed between January and March 2025. Key report findings include a 186% surge in breached personal information, a 466% increase in phishing reports, growth in fake browser update scams by 17 times the previous quarter's levels, and more than 4 million people protected from Scam-Yourself Attacks, alongside the rise of mobile financial fraud and crypto-related US presidential inauguration scams. 'Online threats are evolving at a startling pace,' said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. 'Attackers are moving away from broad, indiscriminate campaigns to highly personalised, AI-enhanced deception. Breached data and AI tools are giving cybercriminals just enough personal information and design sophistication to more easily manipulate people. That's why we constantly evolve our cybersecurity solutions to be an interactive partner in fighting scams and to be one step ahead of cybercriminals.' Notable Trends from the Q1/2025 Gen Threat Report: Data Breaches Escalate Data breaches are on the rise, with a 36% increase in the number of breaches faced by companies compared to last quarter. Individual breached records surged by more than 186%, revealing sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and credit card details. Attackers employed more advanced infostealers like Lumma Stealer, making data compromise faster and harder to detect. Phishing Scams Designed to Bypass Security Filters Reports of phishing scams rose by a staggering 466% compared to the previous quarter, now making up nearly 32% of all scam submissions to the Norton Genie scam detector. According to the Norton Genie scam detector platform, phishing is the fastest-growing threat, second only to generic scams, which accounted for 51% of reports. The good news is that people are becoming more wary of potential phishing scams and reporting these messages. Telemetry data reveals a growing number of phishing campaigns that abuse dynamic DNS services and subdomain providers, as well as free website builders to create deceptive login pages. This means, that by mimicking legitimate login portals and leveraging trusted domains—like recent scams targeting AT&T, Telstra and Xfinity customers—attackers make phishing attempts harder to detect and more likely to succeed. Many of these campaigns create a sense of urgency for potential victims through emails claiming account issues or prompting people to review sensitive documents. Despite sometimes being poorly written, the use of familiar platforms and subdomain tricks allows these scams to bypass security filters and remain highly effective. Scam-Yourself Attacks and Fake Browser Updates on the Rise Example of a Fake Update popup in Firefox. The fake update mimics the branding, language, and layout of legitimate software. It often uses urgent language like: 'Your version is out of date, click to update now!' Gen helped protect over 4 million users from Scam-Yourself Attacks in which individuals, through sophisticated deception, are manipulated into infecting their own devices. In one of the most striking evolutions of this type of scam that we observed this quarter, attackers are using AI-generated personas, deepfake influencers and hired actors. They use these personas to deliver their malicious campaigns. This is primarily done through compromised YouTube accounts, leveraging interactive FakeCAPTCHAs and asking people to verify they are human but instead guiding them to give device permissions or download malware. Fake Update Scams grew to over 17 times last quarter's level. This type of Scam-Yourself Attack tricks people into installing malware under the guise of browser updates. Financial Threats Thrive on Mobile and Crypto Mobile financial threats continued to rise, fuelled by increasingly sophisticated tactics that target people directly through their smartphones. Malware, like banking trojans, now exploit accessibility features to overlay fake login pages, stealing sensitive data such as crypto wallet credentials. Combined with an uptick in credit and transaction fraud alerts, there's a growing trend of attackers focusing on mobile devices as gateways to people's financial lives. Digital currencies continue to be a target for financial threats. CryptoCore executed one of its most successful campaigns in early 2025, hinging on the US presidential inauguration. Attackers leveraged deepfake videos of public figures spread through compromised YouTube accounts to steal close to $4 million spread through more than 2,000 transactions. Gen is always innovating to stay one step ahead of today's evolving cyberthreats. Our trusted family of brands offers powerful solutions to help keep you safe—LifeLock helps people protect their identity, the Norton Cyber Safety lineup comes equipped with Norton Genie scam protection, and products like Avast Mobile Security offer protection for mobile devices, just to name a few. To learn more about the latest Cyber Safety tips and solutions, visit our blog at The full Gen Threat Report is available now at About Gen Gen (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, MoneyLion and more. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing financial empowerment and cyber safety for the first digital generations. Today, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately and confidently for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy, identity protection and financial wellness to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at
Associated Press
03-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Gen Brands Norton, Avast, AVG and Avira Earn 16 Award Recognitions Across Third-Party Testing Institutions AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, and AVLab
TEMPE, Ariz. and PRAGUE, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global leader dedicated to powering Digital Freedom, today announced that independent testing institutions AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and AVLab have recognized multiple products across Gen trusted consumer brands: Norton, Avast, AVG and Avira. 'We recognize the rigor of these tests and are honored to receive awards from three of the leading cybersecurity benchmarking institutions,' said Siggi Stefnisson, Cyber Safety CTO at Gen. 'The threat landscape is changing at a rapid pace, and our team works tirelessly to adjust both our core technology and our products to ensure our customers are protected from the latest threats, year after year.' During the testing process, cybersecurity products go through structured evaluations that measure real-world protection, malware defense, and overall performance. The recognition from these independent testing labs across four Gen brands highlights the company's industry-leading technology, powered by advanced machine learning and AI capabilities. 'At Gen, we are committed to delivering the industry's most innovative Cyber Safety solutions, that address people's unique needs in an ever-changing threat landscape. This recognition reinforces the impact and peace of mind we always strive to provide our customers,' said Leena Elias, Chief Product Officer at Gen. 'These awards from independent labs further validate the trust in our technology.' Gen Brands Recognized for 'Top Rated Products' AV-Comparatives named Avast and AVG 'top rated products,' awarding Gold to Avast, AVG and Avira for Real World Protection, Bronze to Avast for Malware Protection and Bronze Avast and AVG for Advanced Threat Protection. The institute also awarded Norton, Avast and AVG for 'Outstanding Protection Against Fake Online Shops'. Norton, Avast and AVG were additionally recognized as the Best MacOS Security for home users by AV-Test, and AVLab recognized Avast Free Antivirus as winner of the Product of the Year award for its advanced in-the-wild malware protection test as well as recognizing the product for Top Remediation Time. Andreas Clementi, CEO of AV-Comparatives said, 'Our testing process is designed to objectively evaluate product performance under real-world conditions. Gen's products met the criteria for top recognition in multiple categories, indicating reliable security performance across their consumer portfolio.' About Gen Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its trusted Cyber Safety brands, Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. The Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing safety for the first digital generations. Now, Gen empowers people to live their digital lives safely, privately, and confidently today and for generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services in cybersecurity, online privacy and identity protection to nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at .
