The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), was hit by nearly 240,000 malicious emails in the first quarter of 2020 alone, the FOI found. This highlights the pressure weighing on high profile organizations to protect their assets and maintain high levels of cybersecurity and awareness. A litigation firm called Griffil Law filed the initial FOI request. The average amount of malicious emails the organization received per month was massive, at roughly 80,000.
The FCA blocked all of the malicious emails and was not compromised, however, mass automated campaigns are far easier to spot and avoid than highly targeted spear-phishing attempts. According to Tessian CEO Tim Sadler, phishing is still a major security problem as it’s easier to hack a human through social engineering than it is software. Cybercriminals who seek access to valuable and sensitive information that the FCA staff have access to could easily research an employee to create a highly convincing phishing email, according to Sadler.
Read More: Financial Regulator Hit by 240,000 Malicious Emails in Q4 2020
