With each new communication platform or system comes a variety of security risks. A survey by Abnormal and Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) captured responses from IT and cybersecurity professionals about how their organizations are responding to the emerging threat vectors created by the rise of cloud-based communication and collaboration applications.

According to the survey results, 47% of respondents are currently using six to ten communication and collaboration tools at once, with video conferencing ranking as the most used tool (80%), followed by email (77%) and messaging (71%).

Despite the productivity benefits that these tools provide, they are not without risk. In contrast, they are increasingly becoming attractive targets for threat actors looking for new paths into an organization. More than two-thirds of respondents are concerned that attackers are leveraging communication and collaboration channels beyond email to evade security controls.

More than half of respondents reported weekly or even daily social engineering attacks across multiple tools. Ransomware, phishing and malware deployment were the top three threats that leaders are concerned will be exposed through their communication and collaboration tools.

More than a quarter (27%) consider strengthening security controls across multiple communication and collaboration channels their top priority relative to other security threat vectors, with another 54% classifying it as a top three priority.

To see all the results from the survey, download the full report here.