Subj : Many workers are overconf
To   : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Mon Mar 17 2025 09:13:00

Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks

Date:
Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:16:53 +0000

Description:
Experts warn overconfidence creates a false sense of security and opens the
doors to cyberattacks.

FULL STORY
======================================================================
 - KnowBe4 surveyed employees around the world to gauge their confidence in
spotting phishing
 - Many confident people have also fallen victim in the past
 - Education and transparency are key to combating phishing, researchers said

Despite being confident in their ability to spot phishing, many employees
still fall for such scams, new research has claimed. 

A report from KnowBe4 warns about misplaced confidence which can cause even
more problems for businesses, showing almost all (86%) of respondents believe
they can confidently identify phishing emails . 

Yet more than half (53%) fell victim to some form of social engineering 
scams: 24% fell for a phishing attack, 17% were tricked by a social media
scam, and 12% were tricked by a deepfake scam.

High confidence often leads to victimization

Employees in South Africa lead the way in both the highest confidence levels
and highest scam victimization rate (68%), KnowBe4 explains, hinting that
misplace confidence can create a false sense of security. 

At the other end of the spectrum are UK employees, who reported the lowest
scam victim rate (43%). However, this figure too is down 5% compared to 2021,
indicating that vulnerability is rising even in regions with historically 
high confidence levels. 

Training is paramount to combating phishing and social engineering, KnowBe4
says, adding that fostering a transparent security culture is equally
important. While more than half (56%) of employees feel very comfortable
reporting security concerns, 1 in 10 still hesitate, either out of fear, or
uncertainty. 

The Dunning-Kruger effect, which is a cognitive bias where people 
overestimate their ability, is alive and well in cybersecurity, commented 
Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4. 

This overconfidence fosters a dangerous blind spot - employees assume they 
are scam-savvy when, in reality, cybercriminals can exploit more than 30
susceptibility factors, including psychological and cognitive biases,
situational awareness gaps, behavioral tendencies, and even demographic
traits.

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/many-workers-are-overconfident-at-spott
ing-phishing-attacks

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