More sophisticated email attacks: outpacing traditional defenses
Cybercriminals are leveraging advanced technologies like AI, automation, and cybercrime-as-a-service to execute increasingly sophisticated email attacks. These threats go beyond simple phishing emails and include highly targeted business email compromise (BEC), AI-generated deepfake messages, and adaptive phishing campaigns that change in real time to bypass security measures.
Meanwhile, many email security solutions still rely on traditional, static detection methods such as signature-based filtering and predefined rules. As our latest research shows, these solutions struggle to detect modern, dynamic threats that don’t match existing threat intelligence databases. Attackers exploit this gap by using legitimate sending infrastructures, compromised business accounts, and carefully crafted messages that evade basic security filters. The result? More threats making their way into user inboxes.
Compliance requirements: raising the bar for email security
Regulatory bodies are tightening their grip on cybersecurity, and email security is no exception. New and evolving regulations such as DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act), NIS2 (Network and Information Security Directive 2), GDPR, and industry-specific standards are increasing the security requirements for email communication.
Organizations must now ensure encryption, recipient authentication, secure message delivery, and robust data loss prevention (DLP) measures to stay compliant. Failing to meet these requirements can lead to hefty fines, reputational damage, and operational disruptions. Yet, implementing and maintaining compliance-grade email security is complex—especially for companies relying solely on their cloud email provider’s native security features.
Skills shortage & increased operational load: a vicious cycle
The cybersecurity industry is facing a well-documented skills shortage, and email security teams are no exception. At the same time, the workload for security teams continues to rise due to:
This creates a vicious cycle: The more threats bypass existing email security, the more security teams are forced into a reactive, firefighting mode. Instead of proactively improving security posture, analysts are overwhelmed by incident response tasks, leading to delays in analyzing reported emails and releasing false positives.
End users also feel the frustration—whether it’s waiting too long for a falsely flagged email to be released or losing trust in the security team’s ability to keep their inbox safe. As false positives and unresolved security incidents pile up, overall protection becomes less effective, and the organization’s risk exposure increases.
Breaking the cycle: the need for a modern approach to email security
To address these challenges, organizations need to rethink their email security strategy. Relying on traditional, static defenses is no longer enough. Instead, businesses should consider:
- AI-driven, adaptive email security that analyzes user and company-specific context to detect even sophisticated attack patterns.
- A layered security approach that enhances existing cloud email security with additional real-time threat detection.
- Automation and expert support to reduce the operational burden on security teams, allowing them to focus on high-priority incidents rather than manual analysis.
- Continuous awareness training and fast feedback of reported emails to ensure employees remain vigilant against phishing and other evolving email threats.
Email security is at a crossroads—concludes our latest research. Over the last few months, we tested the resilience of various email security solutions against modern attack techniques and compiled a report with our findings. Organizations that fail to adapt to the new landscape will face increasing risks, while those that embrace modern, intelligent security solutions will be better equipped to protect their business, ensure compliance, and reduce the burden on security teams.
