Why Smart People Fall For Phishing Attacks
Summary: Unit 42 reports that CISA found phishing emails were associated with more than 90% of successful cyberattacks in 2025, even as overall phishing volumes dipped slightly and the monetary losses per attack rose. The article attributes continued effectiveness to psychological manipulation of the human element, and cites National Cyber Security Alliance executive director Lisa Plaggemier's survey finding that most people worldwide rate their own phishing detection skills as nearly perfect.
Bottom line: Attackers are now pairing AI-written text with deepfakes and voice mimicry, removing the misspellings and awkward phrasing that employees were trained to spot. A workforce that believes its instincts are near-perfect is the exact population that skips verification, and that overconfidence is what the 90% figure is built on.
Read the original at Unit 42 Palo Alto Networks ↗
- Topics
- Malware
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