Phishers target middle management

Phishing scammers have infiltrated the enterprise and they’re finding easy prey, but it’s not in the C-suite as previously thought. Attackers are exploiting the multitasking, often overloaded middle management ranks, according to research by security and compliance firm Proofpoint.

“2014 was clearly the year that attackers went corporate, and they targeted middle management because it’s profitable,” says Kevin Epstein, vice president, advanced security and governance. The study examined more than a million workers’ email and social media activities at work over a one-year period.

The study found that managers doubled their click rates on malicious emails in 2014 compared to the previous year — a marked change from 2013 for managers, who were much less frequently targeted by malicious emails in the past.

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