The Human Factor Report

The Human Factor report documents the results of a wide-ranging study that provides new insight into the ways attackers exploit end-users’ psychology to circumvent IT security. The report reveals that staff clicks on malicious links twice as much as executives. More than 1 in 15 people click at least a month after it first appears in their inbox, and social networking invitations are twice as effective at persuading recipients to click. Since the majority of current protection solutions focus less on human failings and more on system and software vulnerabilities, the report findings have significant security implications for enterprise preparedness and defensive strategies.

This complimentary whitepaper reveals important end-user behavior, including:

  • Every company clicks. On average, 1 out of 10 employees exposed to malicious links in email will click.
  • Attacks have a long shelf-life. More than 1 in 15 user clicks on malicious links are seen more than a month after the threat was delivered.
  • Mobility matters. 90 percent of total clicks on malicious URLs come from user’s computers, not mobile devices – but 20 percent of those clicks happen when those computers are outside of the corporate firewall.
  • Knowledge empowers. Understanding the details of an attack enables security teams to focus their efforts where they count and where to take immediate action.

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Resource Details

Proofpoint, Inc. logo
Provided by:
Proofpoint, Inc.
Topic:
Security
Format:
PDF