Zix publishes its Mid-Year 2021 Global Threat Report on global threats. E-mail threats are on the rise: 2,9 billion e-mails were quarantined by Zix in the first half of the year alone.
Zix Corporation, the leading provider of cloud solutions for email security, productivity and compliance, publishes its Mid-Year 2021 Global Threat Report on Global Threats. Twice a year, the researchers from Zix present their assessments of the current threat and security situation, combined with an overview of current developments in attack techniques and tips for companies on prevention.
Cyber crime is growing rapidly
“Cyber crime will continue to grow rapidly in 2021 as well. Probably the most important lesson from this development is the fact that threat hunters are indispensable, ”said Troy Gill, manager of research at Zix. “Companies cannot wait for potential dangers to become known. You also need to proactively identify security incidents that automated tools may not be able to see. In the second half of 2021 we will have to deal with phishing, business email compromise (BEC) and increasingly sophisticated ransomware attacks as well as increasing ransom demands for the release of compromised data. "
The Mid-Year 2021 Global Threat Report shows that attackers are using new techniques faster and faster. Here are the most common methods and the most important numbers at a glance:
Customized phishing attacks on the rise
A total of 29,7 million Living off the Land (LOtL) phishing emails were recorded (Image: Zix).
The number of phishing attacks compared to the first quarter is not only growing, the attacks are also becoming more sophisticated. With the help of captchas and real web certificate data, the attackers outsmart scanning services and are specifically tailored to individual users. Among other things, fake references to popular websites such as Spotify and DocuSign were used to lure users.
New attack trends
The number of e-mail threats will also rise in the first half of 2021: After e-mail-based attacks initially weakened in the first five months, they rose sharply again in June. A total of 2,9 billion emails were quarantined by Zix. Attacks via malicious links (URLs) and attachments also increased continuously in the first half of the year.
Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are becoming the most widely used tactic
According to Zix, companies in particular are the most vulnerable to BEC attacks and therefore the main target for attackers. Hackers first observe the communication on a compromised account. Only in the next step do they send individually tailored messages to steal financial information or access data.
Zix's full Mid-Year 2021 Global Threat Report on global threats is available online for free download.
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About Zix Corporation
Zix Corporation (Zix) is a leading provider of email security, productivity, and compliance. All over the world, important institutions in the healthcare, financial and public administration sectors rely on Zix. The company offers user-friendly solutions for email encryption and data loss prevention, advanced threat protection and standardized information archiving. With a focus on protecting internal corporate communications, Zix enables its customers to better protect their data and meet compliance requirements.