At Broad Peak Cyber, we are seeing a sharp rise in AI-enhanced email attacks targeting UK organisations.
These are not traditional phishing emails; they are:
- Highly personalised
- Constantly changing in structure
- Designed to bypass legacy controls
The challenge is no longer just blocking threats. It is responding to them at scale and closing the gaps that allow them in. This is where platforms like Barracuda Networks Email Protection are making a measurable difference.
The Reality: AI Has Changed Email Threats
In a recent real-world case, a growing organisation was hit with:
- Hundreds, then thousands of AI-generated phishing emails daily
- Unique subject lines in every message
- Spoofed sender identities that appeared internal
- Individually generated malicious links
Traditional tools struggled because they relied on patterns—and these attacks had none.
For security teams, this creates a serious operational problem: high alert volume with no efficient way to respond.
From Overload to Control
After implementing Barracuda Email Protection, the organisation was able to shift from reactive firefighting to controlled, automated response.
The key capability was automated incident response.
This enabled:
- Rapid identification of malicious emails across inboxes
- Bulk remediation without manual effort
- Consistent response to highly variable threats
At Broad Peak Cyber, this is exactly the outcome we focus on for UK customers: reducing response time while increasing accuracy.
Closing the Hidden Security Gap
Even with strong detection and response, one critical issue remained: how were these emails bypassing the gateway?
The answer highlights a common risk we regularly uncover in UK environments.
A default Microsoft 365 configuration known as Direct Send allowed:
- Emails to bypass the secure email gateway
- Spoofed internal messages to reach user inboxes directly
This is not a vulnerability in isolation; it is a configuration gap.
Once identified and remediated, the flow of malicious emails was significantly reduced. This reinforces a key point: many successful attacks exploit misconfigurations, not just technology weaknesses.
What This Means for UK Organisations
Across the environments we assess, we consistently find:
- Legacy email security controls that cannot scale
- Misconfigured cloud settings introducing bypass risks
- Manual response processes that cannot keep up with AI-driven threats
This creates a dangerous combination: high threat volume plus limited response capability.
How We Address This at Broad Peak Cyber
We help organisations move to a more resilient email security model by combining:
Advanced Email Protection
Using Barracuda Email Protection to:
- Detect sophisticated phishing and spoofing attacks
- Protect Microsoft 365 environments
- Continuously adapt to evolving threats
Automated Incident Response
Reducing manual workload by:
- Automatically identifying and removing malicious emails
- Responding at scale across the organisation
- Minimising user exposure time
Configuration Risk Management
Identifying and fixing gaps such as:
- Direct Send misconfigurations
- Authentication controls
- Policy weaknesses that allow bypass
Continuous Optimisation
Ensuring security evolves alongside threats—not behind them.
Real-World Impact
In the case highlighted above, the organisation achieved:
- Rapid containment of thousands of phishing emails
- Significant reduction in manual effort for IT teams
- Elimination of a critical configuration gap
- A scalable, future-ready email security posture
This is the difference between reacting to threats and controlling them.
Final Thought
AI-driven email attacks are not slowing down. They are becoming more convincing, more scalable, and harder to detect using traditional methods.
Organisations that rely on legacy tools and manual processes will struggle to keep up.
At Broad Peak Cyber, we help UK organisations:
- Detect threats faster
- Respond automatically
- Eliminate the gaps attackers exploit
Because in today’s threat landscape, success is not just about blocking emails—it is about stopping the flow, fixing the root cause, and staying ahead of what comes next.
