ReliaQuest has printed a report on the cybercriminal recruitment ecosystem, discovering that fluent English audio system with social engineering abilities are extremely sought-after.
“Among the many most in-demand abilities is English-speaking social engineering, with job posts greater than doubling from 2024 to 2025,” the researchers write. “Recruiters account for 87% of those postings, indicating sturdy demand, doubtless fueled by the success of teams like ‘Scattered Spider’ in leveraging this ability for preliminary entry assaults.”
The researchers notice that deepfake expertise can add one other layer of sophistication to social engineering assaults. Accordingly, crooks are additionally seeking to rent people with AI experience
“Trying forward, as soon as deepfake expertise permits adversaries to take away language limitations in actual time, it’ll current a good higher menace,” ReliaQuest says. “Attackers might goal organizations throughout a number of languages, considerably increasing their attain. What’s extra, with recruitment for English-speaking social engineers already at an all-time excessive, real-time deepfake expertise gives an alternative choice to conventional strategies. As such, social engineering assaults will virtually actually turn into extra prevalent.”
ReliaQuest additionally notes a surge of exercise associated to the newly common ClickFix social engineering tactic, which tips victims into working malicious instructions on their computer systems.
“The cybercriminal job market is a key driver in accelerating the adoption of rising assault strategies, as demonstrated by the rise of ClickFix malware execution. Between late 2024 and early 2025, ClickFix exercise surged by an alarming 850%, with a 200% spike occurring inside only one month of focused recruitment posts showing. This speedy escalation highlights how demand for particular experience instantly fuels the deployment of recent strategies, making it important for organizations to watch these shifts and proactively strengthen defenses.”
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ReliaQuest has the story.
