FEATURE
The past 18 months have radically transformed the way we work . Recent Mimecast research found that the COVID-19 pandemic forced 75 % of UK organisations to accelerate their Digital Transformation plans . While this provided many benefits , including better efficiency and productivity , the rush to transform and the move to remote working also left companies exposed to increased risks .
One of the biggest risks is poor email security .
Remote working leads to more risk
Human error is at the heart of most successful cyberattacks and cybercriminals usually rely on an employee to make a mistake . Our research shows that after working source of cybersecurity issues : 42 % of IT leaders acknowledge most cybersecurity incidents start with an employee clicking on a malicious link in an email . As hackers become more sophisticated , 30 % admit that these emails mimic an
With ransomware attacks becoming more commonplace , poor email security is a risk that businesses simply cannot take .
internal source , increasing the challenge to identify whether a source is legitimate or not for employees who may not have seen their colleagues since March 2020 for over a year .
Brian Pinnock , Cybersecurity Expert , Mimecast
from home for several months , British employees have developed some lax cybersecurity habits . The research shows that 63 % are using their personal devices to access the corporate network and almost half ( 49 %) are opening attachments from unknown sources . In addition to this , employees are clicking on three times as many malicious emails as they had before the pandemic .
These lax practices result in more cybersecurity incidents across businesses , with three in four IT leaders witnessing cybersecurity issues once a month or more – more worryingly , 20 % of them admit occurrences happen more than once a day . Email remains the first
Mimecast research also found that 56 % of IT directors agree that COVID-19 has led to far more attempts at cyberattacks via email and 54 % believe these attacks are more sophisticated than before . Combine this with a workforce facing extended remote working and it ’ s clear that IT teams face many challenges when it comes to securing email . With Mimecast ’ s recent State of Email Security report , finding a 64 % year-over-year increase in email threat volume , it has never been more important for organisations to invest in their email security .
And with ransomware attacks becoming more commonplace , poor email security is a risk that businesses simply cannot take .
Email platforms alone aren ’ t keeping businesses secure
Email remains the number one attack vector for these criminals to exploit , making it imperative that organisations ensure email security is up to scratch . Despite 56 % of businesses believing www . intelligentciso . com
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