Email attacks have increased by 293% compared to the first half of 2023

A report by Acronis found a significant increase in email attack instances during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This report highlighted emerging cybersecurity trends, focusing on ransomware, phishing, email attacks, and more. Key findings from the report include: 

• Ransomware detection volume increased by 32% from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024.
• Email communications per organization increased by 25%, leading to a 47% rise in email attacks targeting organizations.
• 26% of targets faced phishing attempts through malicious URLs. 
• Social engineering schemes increased by 5% since the first half of 2023. 
• Malware attacks decreased from 11% to 4% since the first half of 2023.

Security leaders share insights:

Stephen Kowski, Field CTO SlashNext Email Security+:

“Organizations should implement advanced email security with AI-powered threat detection, enable multi-factor authentication, and conduct regular security awareness training for employees. Real-time phishing protection that analyzes URLs and attachments can significantly reduce email-based threats.

“SMBs should prioritize software updates, robust backup solutions, and next-generation endpoint protection with behavioral analysis capabilities. A comprehensive security platform offering ransomware-specific defenses and real-time threat intelligence can enhance an SMB’s resilience against attacks.

“Generative AI and LLMs enable attackers to create convincing phishing emails, deepfakes, and automated attack scripts at scale. Defending against these evolving threats requires security solutions leveraging generative AI and machine learning to detect anomalies in email content, sender behavior, and communication patterns.

Nicole Carignan, Vice President of Strategic Cyber AI at Darktrace:

“As phishing attacks grow in sophistication, organizations must rely on tools that understand how employees interact with their inboxes to identify suspicious activity. Our dependence on historical attack data for known threats may not be sufficient against new or unknown threats.

“With the increasing use of generative AI by threat actors, traditional threat intelligence methods may be less effective as attackers quickly change tactics and signatures to evade defenses.

Mr. Mika Aalto, Co-Founder and CEO at Hoxhunt:

“Organizations should start with the basics like multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption for sensitive information sharing. Building a security culture based on measurable behavior change and risk reduction is crucial. Implementing advanced anti-phishing technology can identify and block sophisticated impersonation attempts in real-time.

“AI is lowering barriers to social engineering, making phishing attacks more believable and effective. Investing in human-centric security measures and adaptive security strategies can help reduce the risk of social engineering attacks.