NS&I Blocked 132,126 Malicious Emails Over Three Years

National Savings and Investments blocked 132,126 malicious emails over a three-year period after phishing attacks targeting the government-backed savings provider quadrupled in the past 12 months. The intercepted communications included spam, phishing attempts and malware threats targeting NS&I’s systems.

Phishing incidents rose from 1,043 to 4,414 while spam messages accounted for 97,777 of the total blocked emails.

The total number of blocked emails fell over the most recent 12 months even as the phishing attacks surged. NS&I urged customers to remain alert following the rise in suspicious activity involving its systems. The organisation clarified the figures related solely to inbound emails directed at the organisation itself rather than messages sent to customers.

An NS&I spokesman said the organisation operated robust safeguards to protect customer information and internal systems. The disclosure follows a major technical outage that left around 37,000 NS&I customers temporarily unable to access their funds. Up to £476 million in deposits were affected during the disruption.

Bereaved families attempting to retrieve savings belonging to deceased relatives faced particular difficulties accessing accounts during the NS&I outage. Andy Ward, senior vice president international at cybersecurity company Absolute Security, warned that artificial intelligence was being increasingly deployed to create more convincing phishing attacks. " — Andy Ward.

Ward warned financial institutions were facing growing risks from increasingly advanced criminal tactics. He added that even short-term disruption affecting organisations such as NS&I could have serious consequences for customers attempting to access savings and financial services. Ward urged firms to strengthen internal security measures and improve staff awareness around cyber threats.

Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise for UK and Ireland at cybersecurity company Check Point, warned consumers had become increasingly relaxed about sharing sensitive personal information online. " — Charlotte Wilson. Wilson said seemingly harmless information, including details about recent purchases or investment providers, could be used by cybercriminals to build more sophisticated scams targeting individuals and organisations.

GB News reported the comments from both cybersecurity executives.