PRESS RELEASE

LONDON., August 20, 2024 – Mimecast, a leading global Human Risk Management platform, today announced its Global Threat Intelligence Report 2024 H1It found that malicious links and AI-powered bots in call centers are among the biggest threats to cybersecurity, with small businesses being hit the hardest.

The report analyzes the threat landscape through the first six months of 2024 and provides actionable steps for organizations of all sizes to improve cyber defenses. Key findings from the report include:

Threatening actors join forces

Messaging attacks continue to evolve, with hackers moving away from pushing malware and toward using malicious links as the preferred method of delivering payloads to victims’ systems. Mimecast’s analysis found that malicious links increased 133% in Q1 2024 and 53% in Q2, compared to the same period in 2023.

Attacks increasingly use multiple layers of false information, requiring victims to interact more. They are forced to click on links, respond to CAPTCHAs, and submit fake multifactor authentication requests. Additional layers of obfuscation allow these types of attacks to fly under the radar and gain access where malware would be denied.

In the first half of the year, a campaign targeting Australian law firms used confusing URLs in email messages to send users to an intermediary page on one of several collaboration platforms. If victims clicked on the link, they were redirected to a fake Microsoft login page to access credentials.

AI scams are gaining momentum

More often, attackers use generative AI to create phishing templates. In one case, however, attackers targeted corporate employees by sending 380,000 emails with an attached PDF document. Clicking on the file opens the PDF in a web browser and displays a page hosted on an AI development service.

AI-driven attacks don’t just impact businesses. Attackers are increasingly targeting consumers by leveraging Microsoft distribution lists to send mass emails that bypass security checks and notify recipients of an impending deduction or payment, prompting them to contact an AI bot call center to gather information. In May 2024, Mimecast detected over 1.6 million emails in this type of campaign.

Small businesses remain the top target for cyber threats

As observed in the Q4 2023 ReportSmall businesses experience the greatest amount of cyberthreats, with Mimecast seeing this peak at 40 threats per user (TPU) in Q1 2024. Employees at both small and medium-sized businesses continue to see more than twice as many threats compared to users at large enterprises.

When analyzing companies of all sizes, the average number of TPUs fell by about a third, from an average of 19 TPUs in Q4 2023 to 14 TPUs in the final quarter (Q2 2024). The threats affecting large enterprises declined in the first quarter, but increased slightly in the second quarter of this year.

“Email and collaboration tools are often viewed solely as cost centers, but this overlooks their critical role in cybersecurity,” says Mick Paisley, Chief Security & Resilience Officer at Mimecast. “By optimizing email security, organizations can realize significant cost savings while ensuring robust protection against emerging threats. This approach is not only critical to minimizing cyber risk, but also to maintaining the productivity and security of your organization.”

For more insights and recommendations from our team, download the full report: Mimecast’s Global Threat Intelligence Report 2024 H1

About Mimecast

Mimecast is a leading AI-driven, API-driven, connected Human Risk Management platform purpose-built to protect organizations across the spectrum of cyber threats. By integrating advanced technology with human-centric pathways, our platform increases visibility and delivers strategic insight that enables decisive action, empowering organizations to protect their collaborative environments, secure their critical data, and actively engage employees to reduce risk and improve productivity. More than 42,000 organizations worldwide trust Mimecast to help them stay ahead of the ever-changing threat landscape. From insider risk to external threats, with Mimecast, customers get more. More visibility. More insight. More agility. More security.

Mimecast and the Mimecast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Mimecast Services Limited in the United States and/or other countries. All other third-party trademarks and logos mentioned in this press release are the property of their respective owners.