The Behavioral Shift: Why Trusted Relationships Are the Newest Attack Surface
Abnormal AI report shows attackers shift from technical exploits to behavioral targeting via phishing, BEC, and vendor
Analysis of 800,000 email attacks across 4,600+ organizations reveals attackers are abandoning technical exploits in favor of sophisticated behavioral and social engineering tactics. The study identifies phishing (58%), business email compromise (11%), and vendor email compromise as primary attack vectors, with attackers using redirect chains, link shorteners, and carefully crafted pretexts that blend into legitimate organizational workflows. The trend highlights how trusted relationships and routine processes have become the newest attack surface, with defensive AI recommended as a key countermeasure.
AI summary of the linked source. Not reviewed by an editor. How this works
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What helps against this
How we list vendors
- Identity threat detection and response (ITDR)
Attackers who log in with real, stolen credentials get noticed.
- Email security
Phishing, malware and invoice fraud are filtered out before they reach inboxes.
- Security awareness training and phishing simulation
People recognise and report attacks instead of falling for them.
Indicators of Compromise
Extracted by AI from the linked source. Not reviewed by an editor. How this works
- domain — tinyurl.com
- domain — t.co