Account Takeover (ATO)-based email attacks are among the toughest to detect—and the most devastating. Nearly 44% of businesses have fallen victim to ATO-based phishing and business email compromise (BEC) scams, which are launched from hijacked email accounts of trusted individuals.
Cybercriminals collect email account credentials or user client access via phishing attacks or purchase credentials via the dark web.
The attacker then logs into the compromised account, changes account passwords or sets up a mail forwarder to establish control.
The attacker lays low, monitoring account activity and waiting patiently to hijack important conversations.
78% of ATO-based attacks are phishing scams aimed at harvesting more credentials, but may include business email compromise or ransomware attacks.
Depending on the con, credentials are captured, sensitive data is ransacked, and stolen funds are retrieved.
Detecting unauthorized users in legitimate email accounts or user clients is critical to defending against ATO-based attacks.
Agari understands the complex relationships behind the email message, identity characteristics, and expected behaviors between sender and recipient to accurately determine if a message from a previously-established email account should be trusted.
Account Takeover White Paper
Convincing people into downloading malware or logging into a fake website is core to an ATO-based attack. Identity deception makes it difficult for the victim to know if the sender has malicious intent.
By understanding good email sending behaviors, Agari can spot anomalies and patterns that differ from the norm. Emails can be blocked based on the severity of divergence to ensure untrusted email never reaches the inbox.
It’s not enough to react and detect ATO-based attacks, but to prevent and deter them before they strike. Agari predicts attacks based on understanding the identity and relationships behind the message and on how closely a new message correlates or deviates from known good email communications.
Even though your business may not have seen a threat, Agari likely has. And because it’s at work already protecting organizations worldwide, it grows smarter and more effective each day.
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