'The inbox is no longer the only front line': Report claims vast majority of phishing attacks are now generated by AI - here's how to stay safe

Date:
Mon, 04 May 2026 11:20:00 +0000

Description:
Not only is AI helping attackers generate more sophisticated phishing
attacks, but it's also democratizing tools to even more attackers.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Phishing attacks aren't just in the inbox calendar and Teams attacks are also highly common AI is believed
to make phishing attacks around 7x more efficient Internal impersonation is a growing threat New data has claimed 86% of all phishing attacks are now
driven by artificial intelligence, meaning that for the first time in a long time, they're becoming far more sophisticated.

With an increase in scale and automation comes the power to attack across
more surfaces in the past six months, KnowBe4 says it observed a 49% rise in calendar invite attacks. This shows email inboxes are no longer the only attack surface, with collaboration tools, calendar invites and messaging platforms equally at risk. Article continues below You may like The fake
Rolex problem: How AI turned amateur attackers into nation-state threats 'In 2026, cybercrime has reached a point of total convergence': New research claims AI attacks are taking over so how can your business stay safe? Cybercriminals using AI for fraud are making far more profit, Interpol claims Phishing breaks out of the inbox at scale Over the same six-month period, KnowBe4 also saw a 41% rise in Microsoft Teams attacks and a 139% rise in reverse proxy attacks targeting Microsoft 365 credentials.

The report details how cybercriminals can use AI to generate personalized and realistic phishing messages to the point that they're expected to be around
7x more efficient than manual attacks. Deepfakes spanning both audio and
video are also posing a risk to security, with nearly on in three (30%) attacks involving internal impersonation, such as that of a manager.

"Social engineering is becoming more targeted, making it more difficult to discern what is legitimate versus what is malicious," Threat Intelligence SVP Jack Chapman explained.

Some of the common tactics KnowBe4 saw employed included impersonating IT, HR and C-suite execs, and instilling a sense of urgency with deadlines. Are you
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Besides increasing attack sophistication, the report also covers how AI has democratized phishing attacks to even more people, effectively lowering the barrier for entry. Phishing-as-a-service has emerged from this trend, which automates the entire attack lifecycle without the attackers needing to understand the ins and outs of an attack.

While the report focuses more on current trends than solutions, KnowBe4 does call for a "holistic ecosystem fueled by deep behavioral analytics and real-time threat intelligence" whereby workers are also considered a line of defense in spotting and avoiding phishing attacks. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-inbox-is-no-longer-the-only-front-l ine-report-claims-vast-majority-of-phishing-attacks-are-now-generated-by-ai-he res-how-to-stay-safe


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