The Optery Dispatch

Bringing you insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy.

Record Breach Pace, Personal-Phone Vishing, and Ransomware Targeting A Range of Roles

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #16, published August 25, 2026, we cover: ITRC 2026 H1 DBR: Cyberattacks Drive Record Breach Pace as Social Engineering Remains the #1 Reported Attack Vector Victim notices exceeded the full-year 2025 total in six months, asContinue reading "Record Breach Pace, Personal-Phone Vishing, and Ransomware Targeting A Range of Roles"

August 25, 2026

Multi-Channel Phishing, Marketer-Targeted Job Lures, and Fake Interpol Emails

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #15, published July 21, 2026, we cover: The Multi-Channel Social Engineering Threat Phishing is no longer only an email security problem ITPro reports that phishing is expanding across Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom, cloud platforms, calendar invites,Continue reading "Multi-Channel Phishing, Marketer-Targeted Job Lures, and Fake Interpol Emails"

July 23, 2026

Social Engineering Looms Large: DBIR Data, Silent Ransom Group, and AI-Branded Lures

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #14, published June 18, 2026, we cover: Social Engineering’s Role in Breaches: Behind the Numbers of the 2026 Verizon DBIR Despite the DBIR’s official rankings showing vulnerability exploitation as the #1 vector for initial access, theContinue reading "Social Engineering Looms Large: DBIR Data, Silent Ransom Group, and AI-Branded Lures"

June 18, 2026

New survey findings on social engineering and employee data exposure

Special Edition: The Data Behind the Deception In this special edition of The Optery Dispatch, we’re focusing exclusively on Optery’s 2026 Enterprise Social Engineering Survey Report, The Data Behind the Deception. Based on a survey of 421 cybersecurity leaders, the report shows how large-enterprise security teams are experiencing and responding to targeted social engineering attacks. Continue reading "New survey findings on social engineering and employee data exposure"

May 19, 2026

Identity-Based Attacks Continue to Surge, and Black Basta Targets Senior Personnel Harder

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #12, published April 30, 2026, we cover: Red Canary: Identity Attacks and Direct Social Engineering Defined the 2025 Threat Landscape Identity threats surge as attackers lean harder on browsers, tokens, and direct social engineering Red Canary’sContinue reading "Identity-Based Attacks Continue to Surge, and Black Basta Targets Senior Personnel Harder"

April 30, 2026

Age of the AI adversary, evasive browser attacks and phishing trends

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #11, published March 31, 2026, we cover: CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report: Year of the Evasive Adversary AI is accelerating attacks as response windows keep shrinking The result is faster and more scalable social-engineering campaigns, allowingContinue reading "Age of the AI adversary, evasive browser attacks and phishing trends"

March 31, 2026

Record breach levels, social engineering dominating, and an active campaign targeting 100+ organizations

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #10, published February 17, 2026, we cover: Breach Activity Hits Record High as Social Engineering Remains the Leading Root Cause The ITRC’s 2025 report shows phishing, smishing, and BEC dominating across public and private sectors TheContinue reading "Record breach levels, social engineering dominating, and an active campaign targeting 100+ organizations"

February 17, 2026

Data Privacy Week Essentials, The Rising Abuse of Google Tasks SaaS Workflows, & Fake Calendar Invites Increasing the Attack Surface

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #9, published January 26, 2026, we cover: Data Privacy Week 2026: Reducing Personal Data Exposure and Preventing Exploitation Privacy should be treated as a core security control to limit attacker intelligence and prevent targetingContinue reading "Data Privacy Week Essentials, The Rising Abuse of Google Tasks SaaS Workflows, & Fake Calendar Invites Increasing the Attack Surface"

January 27, 2026

AI-Driven Social Engineering, Evasive Phishing Techniques, and a Glimpse into Modern Infostealer Operation

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #8, published December 16, 2025, we cover: The AI-fication of Cyberthreats: Trend Micro 2026 Predictions The cyber threat landscape is evolving into a contest of speed, adaptability, and automation, requiring a shift beyondContinue reading "AI-Driven Social Engineering, Evasive Phishing Techniques, and a Glimpse into Modern Infostealer Operation"

December 16, 2025

New Phishing Methods Evade Email Defenses as Social Engineering Dominates Initial Access

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #7, published November 25, 2025, we cover: Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report 2025 shows social engineering techniques dominating initial access methods, accounting for 89% of observed attacks ClickFix has become a go-to initial access method which traditionalContinue reading "New Phishing Methods Evade Email Defenses as Social Engineering Dominates Initial Access"

November 25, 2025

Threat Reports from Comcast and Red Canary Highlight Recurring and Emerging Phishing Tradecraft

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #6, published October 31, 2025, we cover: Comcast Business 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report Strained defenders face AI-driven phishing, drive-by compromise, and residential proxy abuse, among other threats. Comcast Business’s newly released Cybersecurity Threat Report offers oneContinue reading "Threat Reports from Comcast and Red Canary Highlight Recurring and Emerging Phishing Tradecraft"

October 31, 2025

Salesforce Breaches, Social Engineering & Agentic AI Threats

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #5, published September 30, 2025, we cover: Salesforce Attacks: FBI FLASH Alert UNC6040 and UNC6395 are breaking into Salesforce environments to steal data and extort victims. The FBI, in an alert from September 12, hasContinue reading "Salesforce Breaches, Social Engineering & Agentic AI Threats"

September 30, 2025

Data Brokers Used to Target Orgs, Social Engineering is #1 Attack Vector

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #4, published August 26, 2025, we cover: New Joint CISA/FBI/CNMF Advisory Is Latest Confirmation that Attackers Use Commercial Data Brokers to Target Organizations Advisory follows a string of evidence showing attackers leveraging data brokers forContinue reading "Data Brokers Used to Target Orgs, Social Engineering is #1 Attack Vector"

August 26, 2025

Scattered Spider, Social Engineering, and Ransomware

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #3, published July 24, 2025, we cover: Scattered Spider’s Use of Data Brokers Reconnaissance, Targeting, Threats One of today’s most dangerous threat groups is using data brokers to build detailed victim profiles, impersonate employees, andContinue reading "Scattered Spider, Social Engineering, and Ransomware"

July 24, 2025

Phishing, OSINT Defense, and Physical Data Broker Risks

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #2, published June 26, 2025, we cover: Phishing’s Role in Breaches: Behind the Numbers of Verizon’s 2025 DBIR When the extent of phishing’s hidden impact is factored in, it is likely the initial source of compromiseContinue reading "Phishing, OSINT Defense, and Physical Data Broker Risks"

June 26, 2025

Agentic AI, phishing, and proactive defense

Welcome to The Optery Dispatch — a newsletter delivering the latest insights on threat intelligence and proactive cybersecurity strategy. In Issue #1, published May 27, 2025, we cover: Cybersecurity in the Age of Agentic AI Insights from Industry Leaders Agentic AI was everywhere at RSAC 2025—and it’s quickly emerging as a major force reshaping cybersecurity. In aContinue reading "Agentic AI, phishing, and proactive defense"

May 27, 2025

Record Breach Pace, Personal-Phone Vishing, and Ransomware Targeting A Range of Roles

Multi-Channel Phishing, Marketer-Targeted Job Lures, and Fake Interpol Emails

Social Engineering Looms Large: DBIR Data, Silent Ransom Group, and AI-Branded Lures

New survey findings on social engineering and employee data exposure

Identity-Based Attacks Continue to Surge, and Black Basta Targets Senior Personnel Harder

Age of the AI adversary, evasive browser attacks and phishing trends

Record breach levels, social engineering dominating, and an active campaign targeting 100+ organizations

Data Privacy Week Essentials, The Rising Abuse of Google Tasks SaaS Workflows, & Fake Calendar Invites Increasing the Attack Surface

AI-Driven Social Engineering, Evasive Phishing Techniques, and a Glimpse into Modern Infostealer Operation

New Phishing Methods Evade Email Defenses as Social Engineering Dominates Initial Access

Threat Reports from Comcast and Red Canary Highlight Recurring and Emerging Phishing Tradecraft

Salesforce Breaches, Social Engineering & Agentic AI Threats

Data Brokers Used to Target Orgs, Social Engineering is #1 Attack Vector

Scattered Spider, Social Engineering, and Ransomware

Phishing, OSINT Defense, and Physical Data Broker Risks

Agentic AI, phishing, and proactive defense

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