40 percent emails constitute a threat; says a report by Hornetsecurity

With such advanced technology in the world, there is no place in tech where cybercriminals haven’t shown their imprints. One of the leading places for cybercrimes and activities happens to be a place which is often used by businesses and individuals, and that is emails.

According to the report which was conducted by Hornetsecurity, 40 percent of the received emails constitute a threat. Considering how easily we are using this particular mode of communication, it never really hit us right?

While email companies are very strict on their security and all emails after being sent and before being received undergo a security check. According to the report, out of all emails, 80 percent are blocked by security filters, 14 percent labeled as spam, 4 percent are termed as threat and the remaining 1 percent as an advanced threat.

However, with such a tight security system, hackers have found a way to still attest malwares through emails. How so? Well, there is always a loophole in technology and cybercriminals are just great at finding it.

The best source to hide malwares for cybercriminals is archive files and 33.6 percent of cybercrimes through emails are conducted through this method. This is because archive emails allow attachments which aren’t always clear in security scans. Followed by this, 15.3 percent of malware websites are sent through by attaching them to email in HTML form. This helps cybercriminals avoid the URL detectors. Moreover, 14.5 percent of malicious files are spread through the PDF form and XLM Macros are widely used to spread 10 percent of the files.

The tactics are being used to attack various industries and despite severe security companies are largely being impacted by this. The report stated, transport, research and manufacturing industries are most commonly a target of such malware companies. Apart from this, the attackers are not only sending malicious mails through emails but are also impersonating some big companies too. With the recent holiday season, people tend to order through Amazon and are in contact with DHL services a lot. Hence, criminals attack people by impersonating these companies.

It is important for people to be cautious about such attackers and companies to buckle up their security system.


Read next: Half of All Ransomware Attacks Target Americans
Previous Post Next Post