Researchers at ReliaQuest are tracking two new phishing toolkits that are designed to bypass multifactor authentication (MFA). The first tool, called “Jalisco,” is a device code phishing platform that pairs with AI-powered phishing-as-a-service platforms like EvilTokens to provide fresh OAuth codes in real time.

Ransomware and phishing have always been linked, but the old model was blunt: a phishing email carried the payload, the recipient opened it, encryption followed within hours.

Threat actors are using a new technique called “phantom squatting” to trick AI tools into directing users to phishing sites, according to researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42.

Since AI models frequently hallucinate phony information, they sometimes point users to websites that don’t exist. Threat actors are now registering these AI-hallucinated domains and using them to host phishing sites.

Researchers at Cisco Talos are tracking a sophisticated phishing-as-a-service operator panel called “ARToken” that’s built on the EvilTokens phishing platform. ARToken focuses on targeted social engineering attacks, allowing operators to customize phishing attempts for each victim.

Threat actors continue to rely on social engineering as AI is incorporated into their attacks, according to ESET’s Threat Report for the first half of 2026.

ESET’s Director of Threat Prevention Labs, Jiří Kropáč, stated, “Rather than relying on entirely new methods and tools, attackers are quickly adapting established techniques to new platforms, technologies, and user behaviors. The number of AI skills within this new ecosystem is growing rapidly as we speak, further expanding the attack surface.”

Threat actors continue to use AI tools to automate their attack flows and increase efficiency, according to researchers at ReliaQuest.

An initial access broker associated with the Payouts King ransomware group is using Microsoft Teams phishing to deploy a malicious Microsoft Edge web browser extension, according to researchers at Zscaler. Once the hackers have a foothold within an organization, they sell the access to the ransomware gang to conduct follow-on attacks.

Threat actors are abusing Shop, a legitimate app developed by Shopify, to launch phishing attacks, according to researchers at Gen Digital. Shop is used for making purchases and tracking orders, but threat actors are exploiting the platform to generate in-app notifications for phony invoices.

A phishing campaign is targeting small businesses across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States with emails that impersonate Interpol’s cybercrime investigation unit, researchers at Bitdefender report.

Every year, KnowBe4 analyzes millions of simulated phishing tests to measure one thing: how likely is your workforce to fall for a phishing attack? The results, published in the 2026 Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report, paint a clear picture of where human risk concentrates — and what organizations can do about it.

The INC ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation has grown into one of the premier ransomware offerings, claiming hundreds of victims in 2026 alone, according to researchers at Acronis. The attackers target a broad range of industries, but have recently prioritized entities in the legal sector.

Cloud email has become the center of modern business. Regardless of your organization's industry or size, email connects employees, customers, vendors, executives, financial systems and critical business processes.

Lead Analysts: Jeewan Singh Jalal and Louis Tiley

KnowBe4 ThreatLabs tracked phishing campaign activity from the first week of April through June 22, 2026 — covering the pre-tournament build-up, tournament kickoff and the first twelve days of live match play. Our latest intelligence adds crucial mid-tournament telemetry (June 15-22), a newly identified reply-back campaign track and additional infrastructure intelligence.

A new report from SpyCloud has found that phishing attacks have exposed employee data at 86% of Fortune 100 companies over the past 12 months, with the technology, airline and automotive sectors being hit the hardest. The researchers also found that 78% of organizations experienced an increase in phishing volume over the past year.