Kaspersky Detects 144 Million Dangerous Email Attachments in 2025

Illustration of phishing (photo: Freepik) 

JAKARTA - Kaspersky telemetry recorded that as many as 44.99% of emails from global traffic throughout 2025 were indicated as spam, which was not only promotional messages, but also fraud, phishing, and malware.

In its report, the global cybersecurity company found that by 2025, individuals and corporate users face more than 144 million malicious email attachments, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year.

The Asia Pacific region recorded the largest share in email antivirus detection, reaching 30%, followed by Europe at 21%, Latin America (16%), the Middle East (15%), Russia and CIS (12%), and Africa (6%).

Meanwhile, from a country perspective, China is the highest target with a share of 14% of malicious email attachment detection, followed by Russia (11%), followed by Mexico (8%), Spain (8%), and Turkey (5%).

"Phishing emails should not be underestimated. Our report reveals that one in ten business attacks begins with phishing, with most being Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)," said Roman Dedenok, anti-spam expert at Kaspersky.

Kaspersky's annual analysis has also identified several trends that continue in the spam and phishing email threat landscape that are expected to continue until 2026, including:

A combination of various communication channels: Attackers lure email users to switch to instant messaging apps or call fake phone numbers. Use of sophisticated evasion techniques: Threat actors often try to disguise phishing URLs, for example, with the help of link protection services and QR codes to avoid detection. Abuse of legitimate platforms: For example, Kaspersky experts discovered a fraud tactic that misused the OpenAI team's invitation and organization creation features to send spam emails from a legitimate OpenAI address, potentially tricking users into clicking on fraudulent links or calling fake phone numbers. Refinement of Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks: Attackers are becoming more persuasive by inserting fake emails that look like parts of the company's internal correspondence.

For this reason, Kaspersky advises users to be wary of suspicious emails, always check URLs, avoid calling numbers in messages, use layered email security solutions, protect all devices, and conduct regular phishing training.