Ransomware's scary, but Business emails are scarier

We’ve all been trained to be afraid of just about everything on the internet. Malware, scams, and all sorts of threats reside just beyond the click of a mouse. But, what’s the biggest threat? Well, according to Secureworks (via Techradar), business emails are responsible for more attacks than ransomware.

Ransomware is a nasty thing. It encrypts your computer’s hard drive so that you can’t use it. In order to get your computer back in working order, you’ll need to send a certain amount of money to the attacker.

Ransomware was the most popular attack vector. However, the winds of change are blowing. Secureworks did a study of more than 500 real attacks that took place between January and December last year.

Looking at the numbers, the security firm spotted a few key things. Firstly, Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks doubled year-over-year to be the most common type of attack last year. This allowed it to overtake ransomware as the thing to keep you from clicking haphazardly.

Not only that, but ransomware also saw a sharp decline. It plummeted by about 57% year-over-year. That’s a significant drop, but ransomware is still a major issue.

Why are business emails so dangerous?

These emails are wolves in sheep’s clothing. You’ll receive an email that’s made to look like it came from a legitimate company. It could be from a company promising you business solutions, partnerships, sponsorships, free perks, etc. In the email, there will be a link.

Once you click on the link, you could either download a virus or be taken to a malicious site. On that site, you’ll be prompted to input sensitive information that the company will steal. You could easily input information like your address, phone number, banking information, etc.

If you want to avoid clicking on emails from companies unless you do your research first. This includes checking the email address to make sure that it’s from an actual company.

Also, if the company asks you to send any sort of payment information, that’s a big red flag. If an email doesn’t seem like it’s legitimate, don’t open it.