Mimecast Limited, a leading email and data security company, today released its second-annual State of Email Security report that identifies the latest email-borne threats facing industries and organisations of all sizes globally.
Cyberattacks are on the rise. In fact, nearly 50% of organisations in South Africa reported seeing the volume of targeted spear-phishing attacks with malicious links increase over the last twelve months, while impersonation fraud with requests for wire transfers increased by 36%. Making cybersecurity a priority should start from the top, yet this isn’t always the case: one in ten South African respondents said their C-level executive sent sensitive data in response to a phishing attack, and 42% of C-level employees are likely to have accidentally sent sensitive data to the wrong person in the past year against a global average of 31%. In addition, 46% admitted their management teams are not knowledgeable enough to identify and stop an impersonation attempt.
“Email-based attacks are constantly evolving and this research demonstrates the need for organisations to adopt a cyber resilience strategy that goes beyond a defence-only approach. This is more than just an IT problem,” said Peter Bauer, chief executive officer of Mimecast. “It requires an organisation-wide effort that brings together many stakeholders, puts the right security solutions in place and empowers employees – from the C-suite to the reception desk — to be the last line of defence.”
Mimecast conducted the research with Vanson Bourne on the state of organisations’ cybersecurity, their expectations and needs and what attacks they’ve seen increase. Findings within the report are based on responses received from 800 IT decision makers and C-level executives globally and reveals attitudes, behaviours, confidence and preparedness levels of security professionals – and the C-suite – when it comes to dealing with these threats.
Download the State of Email Security 2018 Report here.
