There's so much available in cybercrime forums that scammers don't need to be very creative, the X-Force team found after examining billions of incidents.

Phishing attempts come with a Microsoft Word document that activates a strain of malicious software, AZORult, which allows attackers to make off with sensitive data.

Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 found more activity that appears to be from a group that so far has evaded attribution, but has shown certain habits in its spearphishing campaigns.

A fix is on the way, though exactly when remains unclear.

Sumo Logic also announced its own acquisition of Jask in an unrelated deal.

Security researcher Chris Kubecka knew that it might be a tough assignment to catch an intruder on the email system at Saudi Arabia's embassy in the Netherlands. But the story only got bigger once she got to work.