Phishing On The Rise: Mimecast Report Alerts Increase In Email Phishing Attacks

In the previous days, we have reported several incidents of phishing attacks. While that already hints towards a rise in phishing attacks, the recent Mimecast Report also indicates the same. Reportedly, every 1 in 61 emails received by an organization contains malicious links.

Mimecast Report Regarding Email Security

Mimecast has shared their recent Email Security Risk Assessment (ESRA) report for March 2019. The report scheduled for quarterly releases encloses findings regarding the security status of email systems. In March 2019 Mimecast Report, they have shed light on the rise of phishing attacks.

In the report, Mimecast particularly analyzed the data obtained from Microsoft Office 365 email systems. They ran ESRA tests to analyze the data. In total, they inspected 232 million emails from 75 organizations. Almost half of these organizations (precisely, 47 firms) use MS Office 365 as a primary security system. The results they obtained were not so satisfactory. They stated,

“Of the 232 million emails we have inspected in aggregate, 105 million—or almost half—of those had passed through Office 365 as the incumbent email security system.”

In simple words, this shows that every one in sixty-one emails delivered to an organizations email box contains spam links.

Stay Aware Of Phishing Attacks

Given the popularity of Microsoft Office 365 in the corporate sector, the latest Mimecast Report predominantly focused on Microsoft Office 365. Certainly, the results they represent suffice to warn the organizations of their vulnerability to phishing attacks. Considering the bulk of emails being sent and received daily among the employees, the ease with which malicious emails reach an employee’s mailbox comes as a direct threat to the firm’s overall IT security.

As we have already said many times, the reason why phishing attacks are still so common and successful is that most average users are ignorant of the dangers associated with spamming. It is high time that the corporate sector focuses on spreading awareness among the staff regarding email security. They should at least know the very basic steps, such as checking email headers and sender’s email address, avoiding clicking on links embedded in emails particularly from untrusted sources and downloading attachments right away, scanning their systems regularly with antimalware and ensuring proper data backups. The more the staff knows about the importance of cybersecurity, the safer will be the organization’s It infrastructure.