Report by Abnormal AI
Read, Replied, Compromised: Data Reveals 44% Engagement Rate with VEC Attacks
Key Findings
Conversely, EMEA organisations show the highest reporting rate for BEC, at 4.22%
Telecommunications saw the highest VEC engagement rate at 71.3%.
In EMEA, the VEC engagement rate exceeds Business Email Compromise (BEC) by 90%.
Junior sales staff were among the most vulnerable roles, engaging with read VEC attacks at a rate of 86%.
The overall reporting rate for advanced text-based email threats was just 1.46%.
7% of VEC engagements came from employees who had engaged with a previous attack.
Employees in large enterprises engaged with malicious vendor messages 72% of the time after reading them, taking follow-up actions such as replying or forwarding.
Repeat engagement with VEC in EMEA is the highest of any region, over twice that of BEC.
The second-ranked industry for VEC engagement rate was the energy/utilities sector (56%).
EMEA organisations demonstrate the lowest reporting rate for VEC, at 0.27%.
In just 12 months, attackers attempted to steal more than $300 million via VEC.
Employees in large enterprises engaged with malicious vendor messages 72% of the time after reading them, taking follow-up actions such as replying or forwarding.
The overall reporting rate for advanced text-based email threats was just 1.46%.