Report: GenAI Drives 1,760% Surge in Business Email Compromise Attacks

A report recently published by Perception Point, a provider of advanced email and workspace security solutions, has identified a 1,760% year-on-year increase in social engineering-based Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks over the course of 2023. Perception Point's '2024 Annual Report: Cybersecurity Trends & Insights' highlights how threat actors are leveraging increasingly accessible GenAI tools to scale and craft highly sophisticated and novel social engineering attacks. Also reported was a substantial shift to attacks using evasive tactics, including quishing (QR code phishing) and two-step phishing, that bypass traditional security systems. The report's findings are based on in-depth analysis by Perception Point's Incident Response team and data collected from the company's threat detection platform.

The past year has been defined by unprecedented advances in the capabilities and accessibility of GenAI, which malicious actors have harnessed to enhance and scale cyberattacks. In particular, GenAI has fueled the phenomenal growth in BEC attacks, facilitating incredibly well-crafted and targeted social engineering-based attacks that are challenging to detect. Whereas BEC attacks accounted for only 1% of all cyberattacks in 2022, their proportion of the total rose to 18.6% of all attacks in 2023.

A deeper exploration of 2023's most prominent attack trends reveal a number of other concerning developments that threaten the modern organization's workspace, which encompasses email, web browsers, and cloud collaboration channels.

Phishing is still the top cyber threat, accounting for more than 70% of all attacks, with little change from the previous year. But quishing emerged as a new trending threat in 2023, accounting for 2.7% of all phishing attempts. Attackers are exploiting the prevalence and inherent trust of QR codes in modern life to turn a straightforward scan into a serious threat. Throughout 2023, 1 out of 18 (6%) QR codes sent via email were malicious.

Over the year, the prevalence of two-step phishing attacks increased by 175%. These attacks are particularly deceptive as unlike traditional phishing methods, their multi-stage character makes them especially hard to detect. In these attacks, threat actors exploit legitimate services and hosting sites, often utilized for website-building, web hosting, or file-sharing. Exploiting the reputation of these well-known domains helps evade detection, particularly as these platforms are commonly used for legitimate business collaboration.

Additionally, account takeover (ATO) based threats, in which a legitimate account outside the organization is compromised (Vendor Email Compromise) and then used in highly targeted attacks, increased by 350% in 2023. Threat actors also impersonate well-known brands and invest in impersonating the brand of specific organizations that they target. In 2023, 55% of all brand impersonation attacks impersonated the organization that an employee works for.

Email continued to be the top attack vector, with 1 in 5 emails categorized as either malicious or spam. However, threat actors also exploited the expanding user workspace to target organizations in new ways:

  • Phishing attacks via the web browser increased in frequency from 60% of all browser-based attacks in 2022 to nearly 80% of all browser-based attacks in 2023.
  • Malware distribution accounted for 65% of attacks in M365 Apps including OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams.
  • Evasive threats and malware accounted for more than 50% attacks targeting CRMs like Zendesk and Salesforce.

The full report can be viewed here.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.