The Microsoft name and logo were the most commonly abused by cybercriminals in the third quarter of this year in online attempts to steal personal or payment information.
This is shown by research by cybersecurity officer Check Point Research.
The researchers say it is surprising that Microsoft is leading the Brand Phishing Report for the third quarter of 2020.
In Q2, the American tech giant was still in fifth place; at the time, seven percent of all phishing attempts worldwide involved Microsoft. In July, August and September this rose to no less than nineteen percent of all attempts.
One of the main reasons, says Check Point, is that cybercriminals tried to take advantage of the large pool of employees who are still working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Extensive use is made of Microsoft products, such as Office 365, OneDrive and of course Microsoft Teams.
According to the researchers, this also explains why DHL emerges in the top ten for the first time. The courier company is immediately second in the list with nine percent, due to a spike in online shopping due to the crisis.