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UAE sees rise in 'impersonation attacks'

Dubai - E-mail security systems are the frontline defence for most attacks.

Mimecast, an e-mail and data security company, recently unveiled its third-annual state of email security report. The report includes insights from 1,025 global IT decision-makers, including the UAE.
As cybercriminals continue to use e-mail as a primary vehicle to steal data and deliver advanced threats, the results of this research provide valuable insights and trends around what's affecting organisations the most and how they can improve their overall security posture.  
Email security systems are the frontline defence for most of attacks. Yet, just having and providing data on these attacks is not what creates value for most respondents," said Josh Douglas, vice-president of threat intelligence at Mimecast.
"Survey results indicate that vendors need to be able to provide actionable intelligence out of the mass of data they collect, and not just focus on indicators of compromise which would only address past problems. The Mimecast Threat Analysis Center was also able to identify the top five industries being impacted by impersonation attacks which closely aligned with the findings in the report. Financial, manufacturing, professional services, science/technology as well as transportation industries are top targets globally. Understanding these key pain points helps organisations build a more comprehensive cyber resilience plan," he added.    
Social engineering attacks are a rising concern for organisations because they're often one of the most difficult to control. Most notably, the report found that in the UAE impersonation attacks increased by 75 per cent, with 77 per cent of those organisations impacted by impersonation attacks having experienced a direct loss, specifically loss of customers (23 per cent), financial loss (21 per cent) and data loss (40 per cent). - business@khaleejtimes.com