Why Is Email The Weakest Link?

Emails are a huge part of our our work lives and also have recently become and window into our computers. 1 out of every 99 emails is a phishing attack - in a 5 day work week, this amounts to 4.8 phishing emails per employee. Businesses could even be receiving attacks every day and not even know about it. 30% of phishing emails make it past most default security. 

 

Phishing can be very expensive to companies that they attack. From 2013 to 2018, cyberattacks, including ransomware, business email compromises, and phishing leaks, cost businesses over $5 billion worldwide, and attacks are becoming more frequent as from 2016 to 2017, phishing attacks rose by 65%. Today, a phishing attack on a midsize business costs an average of $1.6 million mainly due to decreased productivity, loss of proprietary data, and damage to reputation. 

 

But 35% of professionals don’t even know what phishing means. Phishing is when attackers send emails or other communications manipulating the receiver into opening a malicious file or clicking a link. The result? Malware is automatically downloaded onto their device, or a spoofed website collects login credentials resulting in compromised information. When someone clicks the link, the attacker gains access to the system - on average less than 2 minutes after the email reaches the inbox.

 

Find out how to protect you and your company from away from phishing attacks here.