The 2025 OpenText Cybersecurity Threat Report confirms a major tactical shift: over one-third of all business malware is now first detected in the user’s “Downloads” folder. Attackers are moving away from email attachments and toward “malvertising” and SEO poisoning to trick users into downloading malicious productivity tools.
Business Impact
This indicates that perimeter email filtering is no longer sufficient. If employees are searching for “PDF merger” or “Network tool” and downloading top-ranked (but poisoned) results, they are voluntarily bringing malware past the firewall. This is particularly dangerous for BYOD and remote workers using personal browsers for work.
Why It Happened
The professionalization of cybercrime means attackers now function like legitimate software vendors. They use AI-generated marketing and SEO tactics to ensure their “free” tools appear at the top of search results, effectively outsourcing the delivery of the malware to the user.
Recommended Executive Action
Implement “Downloads” folder scanning in your EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) policies. Enhance security awareness training to specifically warn against downloading “free” utilities from unknown websites. Consider “Application Control” to prevent unapproved binaries from running.
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