Phishing Experiment Nets Insurance And Finance Industries

More than a quarter of finance and insurance professionals took the bait when a phishing email hit their inboxes, said a study from a Laval, Quebec-headquartered security awareness training firm.

For users across all industries surveyed, nearly one in five (19.8%) who received a simulated phishing email as part of a global experiment clicked the link in the initial message, said Terranova Security’s 2021 Phishing Benchmark Global Report, released Dec. 2.

Worse, 14.4% of users did not realize the simulation’s resulting webpage was unsafe and clicked the download link for a malicious file.

The report shows the value of using phishing simulations to teach people in organizations about cyber threats, said Terranova’s CEO Lise Lapointe.

‘By testing end-user knowledge with simulated attacks similar to threats they may encounter in their everyday activities, organizations can more easily change user behaviors and keep their sensitive information safe,’ she said in a press release.