Emile Abou Saleh, said: “Cybercriminals are on the lookout for festive seasons and high sales period to drive targeted attacks through impersonation and retailers are no exception to this. While the Black Friday and Cyber Monday high sales period is a time to grab the best deals, it could also be a potential target zone for cybercriminals to attack.”

Emile Abou Saleh said: “The hospitality sector has worked hard to build consumer confidence in the aftermath of COVID-19, However, our research shows, majority of hotel brands in Dubai could be doing more to prioritize cybersecurity and ensure their customers are less vulnerable to email fraud. This is crucial given that email remains the number one threat vector for cybercriminals.”

Having AI tools assume some complexities of human behavior also increases its usefulness. Say, machine learning is often effective in detecting highly-directed attacks that may be difficult for traditional rule-based systems to detect. The sheer volume of data that most organizations have to manage also makes it near-impossible for security teams to remain effective without the assistance of algorithms.

The lack of a DMARC record makes companies potentially more susceptible to cybercriminals spoofing their identity and increases the risk of email fraud targeting their customers.

Perhaps more worryingly, only 5 out of 50 (10%) oil and gas companies have ‘reject’ in place, which means a whopping 90% are not proactively blocking fraudulent emails from reaching customers. Reject is the strictest and recommended level of DMARC protection, a setting and policy that actually blocks fraudulent emails from reaching their intended target.