Cloud applications were the primary targets for phishing, accounting for 27% of user clicks. Cybercriminals often exploit compromised cloud accounts for business email compromise, data theft, or further attacks. Microsoft emerged as the most targeted brand, making up 42% of phishing link clicks in this category. Banking (17%) and telco (13%) sectors were also heavily targeted.

The report revealed a shift in where phishing links are clicked, with most coming from various web sources instead of emails. Search engines accounted for 19% of clicks, with attackers leveraging malicious ads and SEO poisoning to drive traffic to phishing sites. Other sources included shopping (10%), technology (8.8%), business (7.4%), and entertainment (5.7%) sites.

“Attackers are capitalizing on creative social engineering tactics,” the researchers noted. “While users are cautious with email links, they tend to trust links from search engines or legitimate-looking websites.”

The report highlighted a surge in workplace use of Generative AI (GenAI) apps, with 94% of organizations leveraging them in 2024, up from 81% in 2023. ChatGPT topped the charts, used in 84% of organizations.

Employee usage of GenAI apps also tripled, from 2.6% in 2023 to 7.8% in 2024. To mitigate risks, 73% of organizations blocked at least one GenAI app, while 45% implemented data loss prevention (DLP) solutions. Additionally, 34% used real-time coaching to educate employees on AI-related risks, ensuring safer adoption of these powerful tools.