An analysis over more than a billion emails yielded some interesting stats when comparing work email versus personal email.
The numbers, compiled and reported by Google Research, show that work email is much more prone to hacking attempts, which makes sense. A compromised work email account can yield a lot more money than a personal account can.
Here are some of the findings:
A work email account is:
4.3 time more likely to receive malware
6.2 times more likely to receive a phishing email
0.4 times less likely to receive spam
Top 10 (11, actually, because of ties) industries targeted by phishing, from most to least:
Finance and insurance
Entertainment
IT
Transportation
Housing
Health
Retail/Science (tied)
Wholesale
Construction/Manufacturing (tied)
Top 10 industries targeted by malware, from most to least:
Real Estate
Transportation
Construction
Utilities
Retail
Accommodations & Food
Mining
Administrative
IT
Manufacturing
Top 10 industries targeted by spam, from most to least:
CEO, Founder & AI Architect, Petronella Technology Group
Craig Petronella founded Petronella Technology Group in 2002 and has spent 20+ years professionally at the intersection of cybersecurity, AI, compliance, and digital forensics. He holds the CMMC Registered Practitioner credential issued by the Cyber AB and leads Petronella as a CMMC-AB Registered Provider Organization (RPO #1449). Craig is an NC Licensed Digital Forensics Examiner (License #604180-DFE) and completed MIT Professional Education programs in AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. He also holds CompTIA Security+, CCNA, and Hyperledger certifications.
He is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Author of 15+ books on cybersecurity and compliance, host of the Encrypted Ambition podcast (95+ episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon), and a cybersecurity keynote speaker with 200+ engagements at conferences, law firms, and corporate boardrooms. Craig serves as Contributing Editor for Cybersecurity at NC Triangle Attorney at Law Magazine and is a guest lecturer at NCCU School of Law. He has served as a digital forensics expert witness in federal and state court cases involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency fraud, SIM-swap attacks, and data breaches.
Under his leadership, Petronella Technology Group has served hundreds of regulated SMB clients across NC and the southeast since 2002, earned a BBB A+ rating every year since 2003, and been featured as a cybersecurity authority on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and WRAL. The company leverages SOC 2 Type II certified platforms and specializes in AI implementation, managed cybersecurity, CMMC/HIPAA/SOC 2 compliance, and digital forensics for businesses across the United States.