EU Workers Encountered High Levels of Phishing Attempts
A new Eurobarometer survey found that three-quarters of employees in the European Union faced suspicious digital activity.
Updated on Oct. 10, 2026 in Cybersecurity
Live Poll
Do you feel confident in your ability to identify fraudulent emails and deepfake videos?
Data from a September 2026 Eurobarometer survey reveals that 75 percent of European Union workers have encountered suspicious emails, messages, or links. The findings highlight persistent threats such as malware, password theft, and increasingly sophisticated AI-powered scams.
Why it matters
Understanding these threats is vital because 83 percent of employees recognize that cyberattacks can carry serious consequences for their organizations. Heightened awareness remains a critical defense against evolving tactics used by malicious actors.
Of those surveyed, 17 percent of workers faced malware attacks while 16 percent dealt with attempts to obtain passwords. Additionally, 15 percent of employees encountered scams leveraging AI tools to generate messages, images, voices, and videos.
The players
Eurobarometer
This is the polling instrument used by the European Commission to track public opinion on a wide range of social and political issues.
The details
Attackers are increasingly utilizing AI to produce convincing fraudulent content, including deepfake videos, which 48 percent of surveyed workers claimed they could recognize. While 72 percent of employees feel confident in their ability to identify suspicious emails, only 54 percent report consistently verifying the sender before clicking on links.
Timeline
The Eurobarometer survey was published on September 30, 2026.
European Cybersecurity Month is observed in October 2026.
The Tech Race
The growing prevalence of AI-driven scams represents a significant escalation in the ongoing battle between cybersecurity defenses and increasingly sophisticated deceptive technologies. This shift forces organizations to pivot beyond legacy email filters toward more advanced authentication and verification protocols.
Employees should prioritize verifying sender identities before clicking any links, as only 54 percent of workers currently perform this simple security check. Maintaining a skeptical eye toward AI-generated media is increasingly necessary, given that 15 percent of workers have already encountered AI-powered scams.
The takeaway
The ubiquity of digital threats requires employees to adopt more stringent verification habits rather than relying on intuition alone. Regularly auditing security practices is essential for workers to protect personal and organizational data from sophisticated AI-driven deception.
Further reading
For more information on digital security trends, visit the Cybersecurity section.
Live Poll
Do you feel confident in your ability to identify fraudulent emails and deepfake videos?
