It only takes one errant click to shut down an entire company with ransomware or one careless response to give up access to accounts or employee records. Email security solutions have become a necessity for businesses of all sizes, in all verticals, which need protection from cybercriminals who know that if they phish long enough, sooner or later, someone will make a mistake. Share these email security statistics and facts with your clients to keep them informed of current threats — or to start the conversation about the risks they’re taking without email security.
1Phishing Is Widespread and Common
According to Trend Micro, 75 percent of cyberattacks in 2021 began with phishing emails and more than 10 million phishing attempts occurred.
2Phishing Rates Continue to Climb
A Proofpoint study shows that 83 percent of organizations experienced a successful email phishing attack in 2021 – a 46 percent increase over 2020. Additionally, APWG’s Phishing Activity Trends Report revealed that Q1 2022 was the worst quarter to date, with 1,025,968 total phishing attacks.
3What Cybercriminals Want to Gain from Phishing
Actors have different motivations for perpetrating phishing attacks. Some are attempting to steal personally identifiable information so they can access financial accounts. Others may be attempting to trick people into transferring money to an account, gain access to corporate networks, or capture trade secrets.
Phishing attacks are launched on businesses in every sector. Types of information your clients need to protect include:
- Internal
- Medical
- Bank
- Secrets
- Payment
- Classified
- IT System
4Cybercriminals Have Become Experts at Getting Email Recipients to Click
Sometimes phishing emails are obviously fake. They look like they were created with a bad translation application, they make outrageous claims, or the sender’s address is blatantly fraudulent. Sometimes, though, they aren’t obvious. They use an address that’s close to the real sender and information the cybercriminal has mined from social media or other sources to sound legitimate. And sophisticated phishing schemes work.
A study in the UK sent nine phishing emails to 62,000 business users over six weeks. The study found that 24,758 clicked, influenced by “authority cues,” such as creating a sense of urgency or appealing to the employee’s tendency to comply with authority figures.
5Employees Share Confidential Data, Phishing Email or Not
Your clients need to recognize that data loss doesn’t necessarily begin with a phishing email. Employees could be emailing sensitive information that a hacker could intercept – or that other people could see, opening the door to fines or restrictions for not complying with regulations. It could be one employee’s information to update a health insurer.
Tessian research has found that 58 percent of people have sent an email to the wrong person from a work account. Furthermore, 20 percent say it resulted in lost business, and 12 percent say it cost them their jobs.
Based on Email Security Statistics and Facts, Are You Doing Enough for Your Clients?
Your clients may be relying on their email application or their antimalware solutions to protect them from attacks that originate with email. However, to take a more proactive approach by monitoring what is coming in – and going out – via email, they need an email security solution. These applications scan incoming emails for viruses, phishing and spam and quarantine potentially malicious emails. Furthermore, these solutions can give users the ability to encrypt outgoing emails that contain sensitive information and provide safe, reliable methods for archiving emails.
Value-added resellers (VARs) and managed services providers (MSPs) can provide clients with leading email security solutions delivered as a Service, so they pay only for what they need on a monthly basis. This model not only makes it an attractive option for your clients, but it helps you build monthly recurring revenue for your business.
Email security statistics help build a strong argument that your clients need these solutions. Make sure your clients are aware of the risks, meet the demand and protect your clients.
