Phishing Emails are a Bigger Threat Than You Think

Spam and phishing attacks are a normal part of our daily lives, especially at work, but while these emails usually just seem like an annoyance, it should be understood that phishing emails are much more malicious than we think. It’s hardly a surprise that 85% of emails received are spam. While 14.5 million spam emails are sent out every day, there are an astronomical 3 billion phishing emails sent every day. 

Phishing emails are often the first step to a much bigger attack. Over half of these emails contain malware and they are the source of 184 million ransomware attacks per year. 

Even big businesses can fall prey to ransomware attacks. For instance, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that locked down digital equipment and disrupted gas supply; or the NotPetya ransomware attack that shut down FedEx computers for $300 of bitcoin and resulted in the theft of consumer information. 

Businesses must take measures to train, secure, and defend against the daily onslaught of phishing attacks.