Email’s usage as a communication tool has worked extraordinarily well for decades, but security in email has at times been subpar. Phishing attacks and emails are increasingly common – from 2013 to 2018, the number of phishing attacks has more than doubled. Of the 384 billion emails sent per day, 85% of them are spam emails. In 2018 alone, more than 80% of users received phishing emails and 64% of businesses experienced phishing attacks. As a result of the massive amounts of attempts from phishing emails to get into accounts and access private information a huge number have been affected. 1 out every 3 consumers have had a computer infected with a virus or malware, been notified that their account has been compromised, or had a social media or email account hacked into. The effects of data, malware infections, and compromised accounts are limited to individual users, businesses, on average, lose nearly $2 million per incident, with decreased productivity, data loss, and reputation damage.
The way phishing emails are able to trick us into clicking a malicious link is not by exploiting the tech but by exploiting the user; 49% of hackers prefer to exploit human nature and not tech. By creating a false sense of urgency by sending a fake email with false ‘time sensitive’ information, hackers can cause people to overlook obvious red flags. Mimicking real emails and personalized messages can create a false sense of security.
Learn more about how you can utilize people, not just tech, to fight off phishing attacks here.
