Key Criteria for Evaluating Comprehensive Anti-Phishing Solutionsv2.0

An Evaluation Guide for Technology Decision Makers

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. Comprehensive Anti-Phishing Solutions Primer
  3. Report Methodology
  4. Decision Criteria Analysis
  5. Evaluation Metrics
  6. Key Criteria: Impact Analysis
  7. Analyst’s Take
  8. About Paul Stringfellow

1. Summary

In February 2020, GigaOm published its first analysis of the phishing detection and prevention market, “Key Criteria for Evaluating Phishing Protection Platforms.” Since then, the enterprise landscape has changed significantly, and many businesses have altered their practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workforces are more distributed, and enterprises have increasingly adopted cloud applications and messaging technologies.

In keeping with this IT evolution, cybercriminals have evolved their use of phishing as an attack method. It’s no longer restricted to email but instead targeted at all enterprise messaging channels, productivity and collaboration suites, conferencing, social media, support chat functions, and ticketing systems. Attackers exploit all of these targets to breach an identity so they can gain access to applications, systems, and data.

An enterprise, therefore, cannot be lax in tackling the phishing threat. It must have good tools and develop a good security culture. Together, these elements will drastically reduce the likelihood of phishing attempts doing damage.

This report builds upon our 2020 analysis to reflect these changes in the IT and security landscape and the broader scope that anti-phishing solutions must address. Whereas our previous report focused on email phishing, this year covers comprehensive anti-phishing solutions across channels and devices.

When selecting the right comprehensive anti-phishing solution, an enterprise must consider many factors. For example, is the solution efficient both technically and commercially? Is it easy to adopt? Does it protect across multiple messaging channels and platforms, both on-premises and in the public cloud? Does it offer effective detection and mitigation technologies?

Leading solutions will assist in building an effective anti-phishing approach that will be cost-effective by offering a breadth of coverage across the enterprise. They will also be intelligent enough to move beyond basic anti-phishing technology and use machine learning (ML) and heuristics to identify and reduce risks both old and new. And in the future, they will be able to alert on threats that leverage multiple messaging channels.

The GigaOm Key Criteria and Radar reports provide an overview of the phishing detection and prevention market, identify capabilities (table stakes, key criteria, and emerging technology) and evaluation metrics for selecting a comprehensive anti-phishing platform, and detail vendors and products that excel. These reports give prospective buyers an overview of the top vendors in this sector and help decision makers evaluate solutions and decide where to invest.

How to Read this Report

This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding, consider reviewing the following reports:

Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.

GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.

Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.

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