Europeans More Susceptible to Phishing, KnowBe4 Survey Reveals

A recent survey by KnowBe4 has revealed that Europeans have become more susceptible to phishing. The Phish-prone Percentage of the survey showed that 32.9 percent of Europeans who have never received security awareness training click on a link in a phishing email.
The survey was conducted on 12.5 million people from 35,681 organizations worldwide. Although no exact numbers were given about the share of European workers, the figures demonstrate the importance of training employees on digital threats.

Training Does Work

The research shows that training does work and can show a declining trend in the number of employees who fall for a phishing email after training. After 90 days of training, 19.4 percent still clicks on a link from such an email. After one year of regularly receiving false phishing messages for training, the percentage drops to 6.8 percent.

Phishing Remains a Popular Tool for Hackers

Phishing remains a popular tool for hackers as they are creative and know which phishing signals employees are taught. For example, researchers recently saw the emergence of QR codes in phishing emails. In addition, KnowBe4’s research shows that some of the recipients of a malicious e-mail always click on the link.
Overall, the survey by KnowBe4 has revealed that Europeans have become more susceptible to phishing. The figures demonstrate the importance of training employees on digital threats, as it can show a declining trend in the number of employees who fall for a phishing email after training. However, phishing remains a popular tool for hackers as they are creative and know which phishing signals employees are taught.