New Research Reveals Growing Threat of AI in Email Attacks, Urges Organizations to Prioritize Email Security
A recent research report conducted by Osterman Research highlights the increasing threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in email attacks. The report, titled The Role of AI in Email Security, surveyed 148 security leaders from organizations with over 1,000 employees. It sheds light on the evolving landscape of advanced email threats, as cybercriminals increasingly utilize AI-based attacks to breach organizations’ email security.
According to the report, 74% of respondents have experienced a rise in AI-based attacks in the past six months. Additionally, over 85% of security leaders believe that AI will be used to bypass their existing email security technologies. These findings underscore the need for organizations to prioritize email security and strengthen their defenses against AI-enhanced threats.
The research also reveals that email security is now considered a top priority for 77% of organizations. Security leaders recognize the importance of AI in their future email defenses, with virtually all respondents expecting it to be moderately or extremely important. As a result, nine out of ten organizations have implemented AI-enabled email security solutions beyond the capabilities offered by their cloud email provider.
The report emphasizes the dual role of AI in both preserving and enhancing detection efficacy. AI-enabled email security has proven essential for organizations, with 42% maintaining their previous detection standards and 35% experiencing an improvement beyond their earlier baseline. AI not only safeguards against evolving threats but also enhances existing security layers, positioning it as a vital tool in the modern cybersecurity landscape.
While AI plays a crucial role in threat detection, human insights remain invaluable. Organizations recognize the synergy between AI and human intuition, evident in their preferences when purchasing email security solutions. Factors such as the ease of reporting suspicious emails and the presentation of results highlight the importance of employee engagement in facilitating effective responses to email threats. Moreover, organizations are blending AI with human feedback to train machine learning models, enhancing contextual understanding and refining threat detection.
With AI-enabled email attacks on the rise, enterprise security teams are not merely evaluating their options, they are actively investing in security tools that can effectively respond and provide continuous protection against these novel threats, said Eyal Benishti, CEO at IRONSCALES, a leading enterprise cloud email security platform. Benishti further emphasizes the need for adaptive AI, capable of continuously learning from and adapting to end-user feedback and data. Strategies like reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLFH) are employed by IRONSCALES, ensuring users remain ahead of the latest threats.
Audian Paxson, Director of Technical Product Marketing at IRONSCALES, highlights the severity of the social engineering problem and the decline in detection efficacy experienced by organizations not adopting AI-enabled email security solutions. Legacy email security solutions place organizations at significant risk, necessitating a reevaluation of their approach. Incorporating AI-enabled solutions that work alongside phishing simulation testing and security awareness training is crucial. Employees should be seen as part of the solution, not a liability.
IRONSCALES is the leading email security solution that combines adaptive AI and human insights to effectively combat advanced phishing attacks such as AI-generated business email compromise (BEC) attacks, account takeover (ATO), and VIP impersonation. By uniting AI and human intelligence, IRONSCALES offers powerful email security that protects, simplifies operations, and empowers organizations.
In conclusion, the Osterman Research report emphasizes the need for organizations to address the growing threat of AI in email attacks and prioritize email security. With the number of AI-based attacks projected to increase, organizations must strengthen their defenses using AI-enabled email security solutions. By leveraging the synergy between AI and human insights, organizations can enhance their detection efficacy and effectively combat evolving email threats.
