Email: Security threats are increasing again, buckle up!

Published June 25, 2022
Author: Ash Khan

Email: Security threats are increasing again, buckle up!

Published June 25, 2022
Author: Ash Khan

Cyber security company Trend Micro warns that phishing and malware spreading are on the rise.

According to new Trend Micro data, the number of security risks delivered by email increases.

The company’s recent report is based on data from products that complement native security and platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. It claims more than 33.6 million cloud email threats were prevented in 2021, a 101 percent increase over the previous year.

In 2021 there was a 221 percent increase in emails carrying previously unknown malware. Among known malware, email security providers banned 3.3 million harmful files, 134% more compared with 2020. 16.5 million phishing attacks were prevented, a 138% rise every year. Credential phishing attacks increased by 15% making it to 6.3 million incidents.

Ransomware on the decline

The bright side is that there is a decrease in ransomware detections. Year on year, the number of ransomware detected dropped by 43%. According to the drop might have something to do with ransomware attacks becoming more targeted. Furthermore, companies became better at blocking some of the more popular ransomware affiliate tools.

Ransomware aside, business email compromise (BEC) detections dropped by 11%, but only for the threats detected with the help of traditional tools. There are AI-powered writing style analysis tools that detect up to 83% of BEC threats. This data suggests that the scammers are getting more organized.

There is convincing evidence that email remains the most common attack channel for threat actors targeting endpoints worldwide.

Every year we observe creativity in the cyberattack landscape and evolution in the corporate level cyberattacks.

Cybercriminals are becoming sophisticated. The greatest chance defenders have at managing these dangers is to use a platform-based strategy. We need to shed light on these threats and enable robust and limitless prevention and detection.