Email security remained top of mind for cybersecurity professionals in 2023 as over nine in ten (94%) cyber decision-makers had to deal with a phishing attack, according to email security provider Egress.
This is up 2% from the previous year, Egress’ Email Security Risk Report 2024 found.
The top three phishing techniques used throughout 2023 were malicious URLs, malware or ransomware attachments and attacks sent from compromised accounts.
Additionally, phishing threat actors became more efficient, with 96% of targeted organizations negatively impacted by these attacks, compared with 86% during the previous year.
For instance, 58% of organizations suffered account takeovers in 2023, of which 79% came from credentials harvested through phishing.
Jack Chapman, VP of threat intelligence at Egress, commented: “Organizations continue to face vulnerabilities when it comes to advanced phishing attacks, human error, and data exfiltration, and analyzing emerging trends will be key to bolstering defenses.”
AI-Powered Email Threat Looms
The report also shows that cybersecurity leaders are aware that phishing is a serious concern for their businesses. A staggering 95% of them said they are stressed about email security.
They are also closely monitoring the use of new AI tools like large language models (LLMs) and deepfakes on phishing attacks, with 63% of respondents saying they are “being kept at night” by deepfakes and 61% by AI chatbots.
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