Almost three-quarters of organisations have suffered data breaches caused by phishing attacks in the last year, according to the Egress 2021 Insider Data Breach survey.

The research also revealed worries over future hybrid working, with 50% of IT leaders concerned that it will make it harder to prevent breaches caused by malicious email attacks.
It also highlights the human cost of phishing with its finding that in almost a quarter of organisations, employees who were hacked via a phishing email were fired or left voluntarily.

The survey, independently conducted by Arlington Research, canvassed the views of 500 IT leaders and 3,000 employees in the US and UK across vertical sectors including financial services, healthcare and legal.

Egress VP of Threat Intelligence Jack Chapman said: “Organisations are being bombarded by sophisticated phishing attacks. Hackers are crafting highly targeted campaigns that use clever social engineering tricks to gain access to organisations’ most sensitive data, as well as leapfrog into their supply chain. Phishing is also the most common entry point for ransomware, with potentially devastating consequences.

“Remote working has also made employees even more vulnerable. With many organisations planning for a remote or hybrid future, phishing is a risk that must remain central to any security team’s plans for securing their workforce.”

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