Phishing and Malicious Emails Are Still the Primary Initial Attack Vector
As cybercriminals continue to evolve their techniques, they continue to rely on phishing as the most successful tried and true method of initial attack, according to new data from Acronis.
In security vendor Acronis’ just released Mid-Year Cyberthreats Report 2022, they found that phishing continues to dominate as the cyberattacker’s favorite method of initial access. According to the report:
- 1% of all emails are malicious in nature
- Q2 saw an 10% increase over Q1 in the number of malicious URLs identified
Of all malicious emails:
- 58% of them are phishing-related
- 28% contain malware
- 81% are a part of phishing campaigns
- The average campaign targets 10 organizations
And the target? From the data, Acronis contend that leaked or stolen credentials were the cause of almost half of reported breaches in H1 2022, making it evident that cybercriminals understand the value of a corporate credential.
This should put the organization’s cybersecurity focus clearly on keeping their users from falling for social engineering tactics used within phishing attacks. Security solutions are a part of the answer, but the user themselves needs to be taught via Security Awareness Training to play a role of the vigilant employee that is always on guard against email- and web-based attacks seeking their credentials.
By enabling the user to help stop these attacks, organizations significantly reduce the threat surface and minimize the likelihood of a successful cyberattack of any nature.
Free Phishing Security Test
Would your users fall for convincing phishing attacks? Take the first step now and find out before bad actors do. Plus, see how you stack up against your peers with phishing Industry Benchmarks. The Phish-prone percentage is usually higher than you expect and is great ammo to get budget.
Here’s how it works:
- Immediately start your test for up to 100 users (no need to talk to anyone)
- Select from 20+ languages and customize the phishing test template based on your environment
- Choose the landing page your users see after they click
- Show users which red flags they missed, or a 404 page
- Get a PDF emailed to you in 24 hours with your Phish-prone % and charts to share with management
- See how your organization compares to others in your industry
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