---
title: "The Phishing Numbers from 2019 are in and They Don’t Look Too Good | DuoCircle"
description: "Now that we’re in 2020, the phishing numbers from 2019 are starting to trickle in."
image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png"
canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/phishing-protection/the-phishing-numbers-from-2019-are-in-and-they-dont-look-too-good/"
---

Quick Answer

Three 2019 statistics frame the phishing problem. Security.org found only 5 percent of users could correctly identify all 10 phishing examples in a survey, despite 96 percent saying they knew what phishing was and 88 percent claiming they could define it. That's a wide gap between confidence and capability. Health Security reported more than half of US organizations were hit by a successful phishing or ransomware attack in 2019, and HIPAA Journal put the figure at 65 percent for US organizations specifically. Spear phishing and BEC targeted 90 percent of global organizations. Awareness training peaks at about 98 percent effectiveness and cannot close the gap alone. Organizational defense: cloud email security with real-time link scanning that blocks the message before any user judgment is required, since a single click is enough to breach the network.

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![Phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/02/dkim-selector-4321.jpg) 

Now that we’re in 2020, the phishing numbers from 2019 are starting to trickle in. _Numbers which attempt to quantify the state of phishing_, such as how many emails were malicious and how many were effective. And so far, things look pretty bleak.

For starters, what percentage of people do you think can **spot all of the phishing scams** out there? It’s important to spot them all because it only takes one click to bring down an entire organization. _The answer? 5% according to a survey_ from [Security.org](https://www.security.org/).

Awareness of phishing is pretty high, according to [ZDNet](https://www.zdnet.com/article/phishing-is-becoming-more-sophisticated-only-5-can-spot-all-scams/), but there are still a **lot of misconceptions** out there. “_Nearly everyone (96%) knew about phishing and 88% said they could accurately define_ it. Yet nearly half (47%) didn’t know that phishing can happen through software, 43% thought that advertisements are safe; and _nearly one-third (30%) didn’t know that social media platforms can be sources of phishing_.”

The good news? You know it’s out there. The bad news? \_You’re still pretty vulnerable to phishing attack\_s. The biggest problem? Overconfidence. It’s one thing to be bad at something. It’s something else when you think you’re good at it. From the article, “The most alarming finding of the survey is the huge gap between the high confidence of people in their knowledge of phishing (88%) and their **ability to spot** all the phishing scams (5%).”

_Why is it so important to be able to spot and stop phishing emails_? According to an article on [Health Security](https://healthitsecurity.com/news/ransomware-phishing-attacks-compromised-half-us-orgs-in-2019), “_More than half of US organizations faced successful phishing and or ransomware attack in 2019_.” That’s right. Half!

Don’t think you’ll be a target? “Researchers found that **90 percent** of global organizations were targeted by business email compromise and **spear phishing attacks** in 2019.” Good luck with that.

Maybe you think you’ll be a target, but you successfully fend off the attack. According to an article on [HIPAA Journal](https://www.hipaajournal.com/65-of-u-s-organizations-experienced-a-successful-phishing-attack-in-2019/), “_65% of U.S. Organizations Experienced a Successful Phishing Attack in 2019_.” Good luck with that.

[![ Phishing Protection](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/02/dkim-validation-7654.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2020/02/dkim-validation-7654.jpg)

Phishing isn’t stopping. _You’re far more vulnerable than you think_. It’s highly likely you will be a victim of a phishing attack some day. **Employee awareness training** isn’t sufficient. You’re going to need some help.

Introducing some help: Phishing Protection from [DuoCircle](/). _Phishing Protection is a **cloud-based email security** platform that stops phishing attacks dead in their tracks_. And unlike most people, it recognizes all the scams.

To learn more about **Phishing Protection** and how it can protect your employees for just pennies per month, go to [Phishing Protection](/email/phishing-protection). It works with all the major email platforms and sets up in 10 minutes. _Try it risk-free for 30 days_.

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) 

Brad Slavin 

General Manager

General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio.

## Secure your email infrastructure

Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution.

[Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) 

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