New FireEye Email Threat Report Underlines the Rise in Malware-Less Email Attacks
September 12 2018 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
FireEye research reveals two-thirds of email
traffic wasn’t ‘clean’ during the first half of 2018
FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE), the intelligence-led security
company, today released the results of its Email Threat Report.
Based on the analysis of a sample set of over half-a-billion emails
from 1H 2018, FireEye found that less than a third (32%) of email
traffic seen in the first half of 2018 was considered ‘clean’ and
actually delivered to an inbox. The report also found that 1 in
every 101 emails had malicious intent. When compared to the
previous six-month period1, the changes in both these numbers
depict that the email landscape continues to see an increase in
email-based threats.
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“Not only is email the most pervasive form of communication, it
is also the most popular vector for cyberattacks. This makes email
the biggest vulnerability for every organization,” said Ken
Bagnall, vice president of email security at FireEye. “From malware
to malware-less attacks including impersonation attacks like CEO
fraud, a single malicious email can cause significant brand damage
and financial losses. By choosing an email security solution with
features based on real-time knowledge gained from the frontlines,
and by teaching users to always ensure they are communicating with
who they think they are, organizations can better defend against
attacks.”
Email reliance continues; cyber criminals adapt
With email security solutions focused on detecting malware,
cyber criminals are now adapting their attacks, exposing
organizations to malware-less assaults such as CEO fraud. In fact,
the majority of attacks blocked (90%) during analysis were
malware-less, with phishing attacks alone making up 81% of the
blocked malware-less emails, almost doubling from January to June
2018. Data also indicates that phishing attacks will continue to
rise, while impersonation attacks (which were at 19%) remain
relatively proportional to the total number of attacks seen. With
it only taking one email to potentially impact an entire
organization, the protection of this data must be taken
seriously.
Other notable email attack trends
While the overall number of attacks stayed fairly consistent
each month during the evaluated six-month period, a few notable
trends stuck out relative to when and how attackers struck:
- Relative to malware-based attacks,
Mondays and Wednesdays were most common
- Malware-less attacks were most likely
to occur on a Thursday including domain name spoofing and attacks
using a spoofed friendly user name, with the exception of newly
existing domains which peaked on Wednesdays instead
- Impersonation attacks were most likely
to fall on a Friday
- When it comes to the weekend,
malware-less attacks continued to be more prevalent than
malware-based attacks, with domain name spoofing attacks and newly
existing domains being the most likely among them
Methodology & resources
The FireEye Email Threat Report is the result of FireEye’s
analysis of a sample set of over half-a-billion emails from January
through June 2018. For more information about ever-evolving malware
and malware-less email attacks, in-depth analysis of impersonation
attacks and the current tactics being used by the cyber criminals,
check out this infographic, or download the full FireEye Email
Threat Report.
For details on how FireEye Email Security protects users against
advanced email threats, including phishing, impersonation and spam,
visit www.fireeye.com/email.
About FireEye, Inc.
FireEye is the intelligence-led security company. Working as a
seamless, scalable extension of customer security operations,
FireEye offers a single platform that blends innovative security
technologies, nation-state grade threat intelligence, and
world-renowned Mandiant® consulting. With this approach, FireEye
eliminates the complexity and burden of cyber security for
organizations struggling to prepare for, prevent, and respond to
cyber attacks. FireEye has over 7,100 customers across 67
countries, including more than 45 percent of the Forbes Global
2000.
© 2018 FireEye, Inc. All rights reserved. FireEye and Mandiant
are registered trademarks or trademarks of FireEye, Inc. in the
United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or
service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their
respective owners.
1 FireEye data from July through December 2017 revealed that 1
in every 131 emails was of malicious intent, and ‘clean’ email
reaching the inbox was slightly higher at 34%.
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FireEye, Inc.Media ContactDan Wire,
415-895-2101dan.wire@fireeye.comorInvestor ContactKate Patterson,
408-321-4957kate.patterson@fireeye.com
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