Scams Now Drive Almost Half of All Malware Detections as Attackers Weaponise Everyday Trust
Gen Digital's H1 2026 threat report shows scams now account for 46% of all malware detections, confirming that social engineering has overtaken technical exploits as the dominant initial-access vector.
Summary written by editorial AI · Source link below
Scams accounted for almost 46% of all threat detections in the first half of 2026, making them the single largest category of malicious activity tracked by Gen Digital, the company behind Norton, Avast, LifeLock and MoneyLion, according to its newly published Threat Report H1 2026. The report, Gen’s first half-yearly threat publication after previously reporting […] The post Scams Now Drive Almost Half of All Malware Detections as Attackers Weaponise Everyday Trust appeared first on IT Security
Editorial Analysis
When social engineering drives nearly half of all malware detections, technical controls alone are insufficient — enterprises need to invest equally in user-awareness programs and behavioural detection.
Evaluate whether your security-awareness training addresses the specific scam types highlighted in the report, particularly those leveraging trusted brand impersonation.
Forward-looking interpretation drafted by editorial AI under human review — not a reproduction of the source. See methodology.
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