INFOGRAPHIC
Mimecast research
finds 75% of
organisations in UAE
saw an increase in
impersonation attacks
Third annual State of Email Security Report 2019
reveals a major increase in targeted attacks like
impersonation fraud, spear phishing and business
disrupting ransomware.
M
imecast, a leading email and data
security company, has unveiled
its third-annual State of Email
Security Report 2019.
“
SOCIAL
ENGINEERING
ATTACKS
ARE A RISING
CONCERN FOR
ORGANISATIONS
BECAUSE THEY’RE
OFTEN ONE
OF THE MOST
DIFFICULT TO
CONTROL.
26
INTELLIGENTCIO
The report includes insights from 1,025
global IT decision makers, including the
UAE. As cybercriminals continue to use
email as a primary vehicle to steal data
and deliver advanced threats, the results
of this research provide valuable insights
and trends around what’s affecting
organisations the most and how they can
improve their overall security posture.
Social engineering attacks are a rising
concern for organisations because they’re
often one of the most difficult to control.
Most notably, the report found that in the
UAE, impersonation attacks increased by
75%, with 77% of those organisations
impacted by impersonation attacks having
experienced a direct loss, specifically loss of
customers (23%), financial loss (21%) and
data loss (40%).
Phishing attacks were the most prominent
type of cyberattack, with 94% of
respondents having experienced phishing
and spear phishing attacks in the previous
12 months and 75% cited seeing an
increase in phishing attacks over the same
time period.
Not only are email-based attacks on the rise,
but they’re affecting how confident people
are in their organisation’s cybersecurity
defences – and ultimately the ability to
do their jobs. According to the report,
39% believe it is likely or inevitable their
organisation will suffer a negative business
impact from an email-borne attack this year.
The report also found that almost a third
(62%) encountered a ransomware attack
that directly impacted business operations.
A total of 58% of UAE respondents noted
having downtime for two to three days,
whereas 29% experienced downtime for
four to five days.
“Email security systems are the frontline
defence for most attacks. Yet, just having
and providing data on these attacks is not
what creates value for most respondents,”
said Josh Douglas, Vice President of Threat
Intelligence at Mimecast.
“Survey results indicate that vendors need
to be able to provide actionable intelligence
out of the mass of data they collect, and
not just focus on indicators of compromise
which would only address past problems.
The Mimecast Threat Analysis Center was
also able to identify the top five industries
being impacted by impersonation attacks
which closely aligned with the findings in
the report.
www.intelligentcio.com