Over half of office workers have clicked on a link in a suspicious email in last year

Michael Bolton

Research has shown over half of office workers in Ireland have admitted to clicking on a suspicious link in an email in the last year.

Research carried out by HCS, an IT and cybersecurity company, showed 51 per cent of Irish office workers clicked on a link or attachment within a suspicious email sent to their work email address.

50 per cent of these also claim to be confident that they can identify phishing emails when they receive them.

61 per cent reported it to the proper authorities in their workplace immediately, while 34 per cent reported it within the same day.

67 per cent of those surveyed say they are aware of their company having a plan or protocol in the event of a successful cyberattack.

However, just 41 per cent of office workers said their employer has provided formal cybersecurity awareness training in the past year.

Human error and malware, both at 49 per cent, were named as the biggest cyber threats to their business.

Dan Hegarty, Head of Sales, HCS, said: “This research serves to highlight some of the real-world cybersecurity risks facing businesses. Employees are often the weakest link in an organisation’s chain of cyber defences, so it’s concerning to see that a large number of the employees who were deceived by a suspicious email also believe that they are alert to cybersecurity threats.

“Evidently, the training that employees are receiving – if any – may not be enough. The survey underscores the need for regular cybersecurity awareness training within organisations.

"The reality is that – particularly now, given the speed of advancement in AI – what could have sufficed 12 months ago may now be outdated. Complacency in this area could prove to be the biggest threat to businesses.