Account takeover-based (ATO) attacks now comprise 20 percent of advanced email attacks, according to Agari’s Q1 2019 Email Fraud & Identity Deception Trends report. ATO attacks are dangerous because they are more difficult to detect than traditional attacks – compromised accounts seem legitimate to email filters and end users alike because they are sent from a real sender’s email account.
“Credential phishing was already a huge risk for organizations because of the potential for data breach, but now there is a new wave of account takeover attacks leveraging compromised accounts to commit additional fraud, which evade traditional email security controls,” said Crane Hassold, Sr. Director of Threat Research, Agari. “Business email compromise attacks are still very active, especially against C-suite targets.”
