The Most Vulnerable Departments and Sectors to Phishing Attacks: Is Yours on the List?

With all this talk of increased cybersecurity measures and vulnerability to phishing attacks, you may be wondering: what are the most vulnerable departments and sectors to phishing attacks? 

The entire motivation behind cyber attackers is to identify and pursue system vulnerabilities and illegally access sensitive data–whenever and wherever they can get their hands on it.

The business world takes the brunt of it, which is why cybersecurity trends and statistics try to predict where the most significant vulnerabilities exist. Here are some quick stats for you: 

1. Mobile and loT devices are disproportionately attacked due to elevated vulnerabilities
2. In the first half of last year, 4.1 billion data records were exposed
3. Average time to detect a data leak = 206 days
4. Average loss resulting from data leaks = $3.86 million 
5. Cyberattacks as a whole will cause over $5 trillion in losses globally next year

These stats are just some of the many reasons why identifying network vulnerabilities is vital–and, more importantly, whether your industry or sector is at greater risk than the next.

Taking data from 410,000 phishing emails over one year, Keepnet Labs was able to identify the departments and sectors that are most vulnerable to phishing attacks. (Full Report: Source)

First, let’s identify how these departments and sectors were attacked. First of all, one out of every eight people share the information that is requested by attackers. That’s a high percentage playing right into the requests of cyber attackers! Here are some other significant statistics that play into how specific departments and sectors are victims to cyber attacks more than others: 

• 1 out of 2 employees open and read phishing emails 
• 1 out of 3 employees will click links or open file attachments in phishing emails 

Based on the above, Keepnet Labs found specific data about which departments and sectors are most vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Top 3 Corporate Departments Affected by Cyber Attacks: 

• Law / audit / internal controls (59%)
• Procurement / administrative affairs (58%)
• Quality management / Health (56%)

Top 5 Sectors Affected by Cyber Attacks: 

• Consulting (63%)
• Clothing and accessories (48%)
• Education (47%)
• Technology (40%)
• Holdings / conglomerates (32.37%)

As we consider vulnerable departments and sectors, it’s also essential to recognize which departments and sectors experience the most data sharing. 

These departments include: 

• Quality management / health (27%)
• Procurement / administrative affairs (26%)
• Legal / audit / internal control (25%)

These sectors include: 

• Clothing and accessories (43%)
• Consulting (30%)
• Securities and stock exchange (23%)
• Education (22%)

At PK Tech, we are firm believers that knowledge is power. These statistics provide us with specified experience to proactively protect more vulnerable systems from unnecessary cyberattacks. It also helps you, the business owner or employee, from being an unnecessary victim to an attack. Educate yourself. Be proactive. Ask PK Tech for help when in doubt! Contact us here.