Men More Vulnerable to Phishing Attacks

New research from the Clearwater, Fla.-based security firm KnowBe4 revealed that men are 225% more likely than women to divulge sensitive information as a result of phishing attacks.

KnowBe4’s quarterly phishing analysis examined 201,755 phishing emails sent over a 30-day period and found that men were more likely to click on them than women were. Over a 120-day period, the firm also distributed simulated phishing emails leading to a data entry landing page that asked users to input their credentials. As a result of this experiment, KnowBe4 found men gave up their credentials more than twice as often as women did.

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According to the firm, this is the first time information has surfaced that points to this type of pattern, and it has prompted the launch of a detailed scientific study that will take into account the gender and position of a targeted employee.