Phishing: How Businesses Can Defend Against the Most Common Cyber Threat

Why Phishing Puts Businesses at Risk

Phishing is one of the most widespread and dangerous types of cyberattacks. Attackers trick employees into revealing confidential information such as passwords, banking details, or access credentials to corporate systems. For businesses, this means financial losses, data breaches, and damage to reputation.

Phishing is not a minor problem affecting just one careless employee — it is the primary weapon of cybercriminals, responsible for billions in losses each year. According to the Verizon DBIR 2024, 36% of successful breaches began with a phishing email.

Case in point: a mid-sized manufacturing company in Germany lost over €100,000 after an accountant received a fake email from a “supplier” with updated payment details.

Why Phishing Is So Dangerous for Business

• The human factor. Nearly 90% of cyberattacks begin with an employee clicking a malicious link or opening a file.

• Direct financial loss. Fake invoices and fraudulent transfers remain common scenarios.

• Reputational damage. Clients and partners lose trust if company data ends up in the wrong hands.

• Legal consequences. Violations of GDPR or other regulations can result in fines worth hundreds of thousands of euros.

What Phishing Looks Like in 2025

Phishing has evolved far beyond “emails from the bank.” Today it’s a broad spectrum of attack methods, increasingly powered by artificial intelligence (AI):

Classic Email Phishing

Attackers send mass emails pretending to be from banks, delivery services, or tax authorities. These emails often contain urgent language (“Your account will be blocked”) and ask the recipient to click a link or open an attachment.

Business risk: One click can lead to malware installation or credential theft. For companies, this often means stolen logins to email accounts, ERP systems, or online banking platforms.

Example: An HR employee receives an email claiming to contain a CV but instead downloads ransomware that spreads across the company’s internal network.

Spear Phishing

Unlike mass attacks, spear phishing is highly targeted. Attackers research their victims — often executives, finance staff, or administrators — and craft tailored messages that appear authentic.

Business risk: These attacks are harder to detect and often result in high-value fraud, such as fake wire transfers or unauthorized access to sensitive systems.

Example: A CFO receives an email “from the CEO” during a business trip, asking for an urgent transfer to secure a contract. The request looks legitimate, but the funds are wired to attackers.

Vishing (Voice Phishing)

Criminals call employees using spoofed numbers (e.g., bank hotlines or corporate extensions). They pressure the victim into sharing credentials, installing remote access software, or authorizing transactions.

Business risk: Employees are more likely to trust a human voice, especially if the caller uses urgent language.

Example: An accountant gets a call from someone posing as “bank security,” warning of suspicious transactions and asking for login details “to secure the account.”

Phishing via Messaging Apps

Attackers exploit business communication channels such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack. Links or files are shared under the guise of colleagues, suppliers, or service providers.

Business risk: Employees are less cautious in informal chat environments and may trust messages if they appear to come from internal channels.

Example: A message in a Slack channel claims to be a system update link. Several employees download the file, which contains malware.

AI-Powered Phishing

This is the most advanced form of phishing today. Attackers use artificial intelligence to:

• Write flawless emails without grammar mistakes.

• Mimic the tone and style of specific executives.

• Generate fake voice recordings (deepfakes) for vishing calls.

• Create fake videos (CEO deepfake scams).

Business risk: Traditional detection methods (typos, suspicious domains) no longer apply. Employees face highly realistic attacks that are almost impossible to spot without advanced defenses.

Example: An accounts payable clerk receives an email and a follow-up voice message “from the CFO,” requesting an urgent international transfer. Both the email style and the voice recording sound authentic, making the fraud very convincing.

Phishing Simulation: A Simple Method with Big Impact

The concept of Phishing Simulation is straightforward: a company runs controlled phishing campaigns by sending employees “test” phishing emails.

The goal is to assess awareness levels and train staff to respond correctly. No lecture can match the impact of real-life experience, which is why phishing simulations are among the most effective training tools.

For businesses, simulations mean:

• A safe environment where employees can “fail” without harm.

• Practical training that sticks better than theory.

• Clear statistics on who clicked, who entered credentials, and who reported the attempt.

• Measurable improvements: after several rounds, failure rates usually drop two to three times.

Example: a global company with 500 employees reduced click rates from 35% to just 7% after three simulations.

Other Effective Ways to Combat Phishing

1. Ongoing Employee Training

Phishing thrives on human error — emotions, trust, and distraction. For businesses, this is critical: employees are the first line of defense. Regular training ensures they recognize suspicious emails and react appropriately.

Example: an accountant receives an urgent invoice request from a “vendor.” Thanks to training, he checks the sender’s domain and identifies the fraud.

2. Modern Email Filtering

Since most phishing attacks start with email, inboxes are a primary risk point. Smart email filters help businesses block suspicious emails before they ever reach employees.

This reduces exposure to mass phishing campaigns and saves time.

Example: a fake attachment named invoice.pdf.exe never arrives in the inbox because the system quarantines it at the server level.

3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Stolen passwords are a key target of phishing. For businesses, one compromised password can open the door to the entire corporate network. MFA ensures a password is only one part of the key.

Even if attackers obtain login details, they cannot access systems without a second factor.

Example: an employee enters credentials on a fake website. The attacker tries to log in but fails because the mobile MFA prompt is missing.

4. Regular Updates and Patching

Phishing often pairs with exploiting software vulnerabilities. For businesses, even one outdated browser or email client can be the entry point.

Patching is the process of installing updates that close these vulnerabilities. Without patching, attackers can exploit flaws and compromise systems without any employee action.

Best practices for businesses:

• Centralized update systems for large environments.

• Automatic updates for small businesses.

• Prioritize critical patches immediately.

• Run regular audits to remove outdated software.

• Test patches in controlled groups before company-wide rollout.

Example: in 2021, the Microsoft Exchange attack affected thousands of companies worldwide. Those that delayed patching suffered massive breaches and multimillion-dollar damages.

5. Building a Security-First Culture

Phishing is not just about technology — it’s about culture. Businesses must encourage employees to report suspicious emails without fear of being judged.

This transforms every employee into an active defender.

Practical implementation:

• A dedicated mailbox or reporting button (e.g., report-phish@company.com).

• Employees are trained to forward anything suspicious immediately.

• Security teams verify threats and, if necessary, block them across the organization.

Example: an employee receives an email about a “failed delivery.” He forwards it to security. Within minutes, the SOC team blocks similar messages, preventing hundreds of others from being tricked.

6. AI vs. AI: Fighting Back Against AI-Phishing

AI has become a weapon for attackers, but it’s also powering the next generation of defenses.

How AI-based protection works:

• Detects unusual writing styles that don’t match the sender’s past behavior.

• Flags automatically generated content patterns.

• Identifies synthetic voices in vishing calls.

• Blocks large-scale, repetitive phishing attempts dynamically.

Example: an employee receives a convincing email from the CFO asking for an urgent wire transfer. The AI system flags the message as suspicious because the writing style deviates from the CFO’s typical communication, preventing a costly mistake.

Phishing as a Strategic Business Risk

Phishing isn’t just a technical challenge — it’s a strategic business risk. Executives are accountable not only for operations but also for finances, reputation, and trust.

By investing in phishing simulations, employee awareness training, modern email defenses, MFA, and patching, companies significantly reduce their

exposure while strengthening their competitive edge.

Phishing continues to evolve, leveraging AI and new communication channels. But the fundamentals of protection remain: educate people, implement technology, and enforce processes.

For businesses, this translates into:

• fewer risks,

• fewer financial losses,

• greater trust from clients and partners.

Start with the most effective first step — a phishing simulation. It’s the fastest way to reveal your company’s true readiness.

Our Red Team experts specialize in running realistic phishing simulations that help organizations uncover weaknesses before attackers do. We provide tailored cyber awareness training programs to transform employees into your first line of defense. As integrators of cybersecurity solutions, we deploy technologies that stop phishing at the source.

Take the next step toward securing your business — contact us today to schedule your phishing simulation.