Cybercriminals target workplace tools
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reports a surge in attacks where criminals impersonate popular workplace tools like Zoom and Outlook to distribute malware. These campaigns often use sophisticated social engineering, such as fake recruitment emails or malicious authorization grants.
Why it matters
The rise in business-platform-themed cyberattacks highlights the growing vulnerability of remote and hybrid work environments to social engineering.
by AKANI CHAUKE JOHANNESBURG , (CAJ News) – CYBERCRIMINALS are increasingly disguising malicious files, links and account-stealing campaigns as everyday workplace tools, with Kaspersky detecting nearly 4.8 million attempted attacks exploiting the names of popular business platforms over the past year.
The cybersecurity company said its analysis, covering July 2025 to June 2026, recorded 4,781,846 attempted attacks involving content associated with services including Zoom, Outlook, OneDrive, Microsoft Excel and Teams.
Zoom was the most abused brand, accounting for 2,658,283 attempted attacks, followed by Outlook with 1,546,122. OneDrive recorded 197,030 detections, Microsoft Excel 151,948 and Teams 111,402.
The findings highlight how criminals exploit routine workplace behaviour, particularly when employees return from seasonal breaks and face a surge in meetings, emails, shared documents and recruitment activity.
Kaspersky said downloaders represented the largest threat category, with 2,733,204 detections. These programmes can install additional malicious software.
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