A report by Cofense highlights trending email security risks that security leaders should secure against. Compared to the previous year, there was a 105% increase in malicious emails that successfully avoided Secure Email Gateways (SEGs). The report reveals that for every 57 seconds, at least one malicious email navigated past SEGs.
Other emerging trends are discussed in the report, shedding light on the email security landscape for 2024.
- Smishing, vishing, brand impersonation and QR code phishing increased in 2033. Active threat reports regarding QR codes increased by 331%.
- Google Accelerated Mobile Pages is central to a new phishing tactic and has seen a 1092% increase in usage to bypass SEGs.
- The most targeted sectors are finance and healthcare. Finance saw a 118% increase in malicious emails avoiding SEGs whereas healthcare saw an 84.5% increase.
The report suggests that SEGs are being outpaced by evolving phishing efforts that target employees, as the number of malicious emails bypassing SEGs increased by 104.5%. These campaigns account for 90% of data breaches. Credential phishing saw a 67% increase. The report encourages security leaders to adopt security measures in addition to any current SEGs to secure their organization against advanced phishing techniques.