Business Email Compromise (BEC) is the most significant cybersecurity threat to enterprise organisations, with $1.8 billion in reported losses in 2020 alone. This type of email attack occurs when a cybercriminal uses social engineering to impersonate a trusted contact—typically an executive, coworker, vendor, or partner—to steal money or valuable information.
Because these emails rarely contain malicious links or attachments, they are difficult to detect by standard email security protocols, leaving organisations wide open to attack. New research from the FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report shows that BEC attacks account for 44% of all losses due to cybercrime, making it the most dangerous threat for the sixth consecutive year.
