- Report Finds 98% of Security Managers Consider Bad Emails a Major Data Security Risk
- Wrong emails caused 1.2 billion USD in fines and 27% of GDPR incidents last year
- 97% believe behavioral AI can reduce human error and improve outgoing email security
Cybercriminals and disgruntled employees aren’t the only things companies have to worry about when it comes to data security, as new research claims sending emails containing sensitive information to the wrong address by mistake is also becoming a big problem.
A report by Abnormal AI claims that 98% of security executives see malformed emails (as emails sent to the wrong address are apparently called) as a “significant risk” compared to malware threats or insiders.
Furthermore, 96% of organizations surveyed said they experienced both data loss and exposure from malicious emails in the past year alone, while 95% reported “measurable business impact” in remediation costs, compliance breaches and eroded customer trust.
Measurable effect
The “measurable impact” equates to around $1.2 billion in fines worldwide, the report further states. Malformed emails accounted for more than a quarter (27%) of all data protection incidents under GDPR last year, resulting in these eye-watering fines.
“Companies have invested heavily in stopping inbound threats like phishing, but outbound email remains a key vector for human error – one that has historically been overlooked,” commented Mike Britton, CIO at Abnormal AI.
As with any other cyber security risk, this too should be mitigated with advanced tools. However, this does not appear to be the case, as almost half (47%) of security and IT professionals usually learn about wrong emails from the recipients, rather than various alerts from their technology stack.
To actually solve the problem, 97% believe behavioral AI can help, as the average business spends more than 400 hours a year dealing with false positives from data loss prevention and email security tools.
“This is as much a visibility issue as it is a technological one,” Britton added. “Traditional tools can’t distinguish a legitimate customer email from a sensitive message going to the wrong recipient. Protecting data today requires more than defending against external threats – it means understanding and supporting human behavior. Organizations that integrate AI-powered insights with user-centric security measures are better positioned to prevent mistakes from becoming breaches.”
The best antivirus for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
