Phishing costs are down per email: what does that mean for teams?

TL;DR: The average cost to handle a phishing email fell 12% since 2022 to $27.51, according to IRONSCALES citing an Osterman report it commissioned, but that improvement comes from faster handling and a shift in the mix, while per-bucket costs and total security effort still rose. The average is a market benchmark, not a control outcome, and it can mask a higher real bill for teams that have not materially sped up.

Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by IRONSCALES: “Why a Falling Cost-Per-Phish Should Worry You”.

Key questions

Q: Why can phishing cost per email fall while total security spend still rises?

A: Because the average cost per email is a weighted metric, not a full programme cost.

Q: What should teams measure instead of the industry average phishing cost?

A: They should measure their own end-to-end handling time, their actual labour rate, and their phishing volume trend.

Q: What breaks when phishing response time does not improve?

A: The cost model breaks first.

Practitioner guidance

• Measure your own phishing handling time Track the end-to-end minutes from report intake to full removal from the environment, then compare that baseline quarter over quarter.
• Rebuild the cost model around your labour rate Use your actual fully burdened analyst and IT hourly cost, not an industry average, so the finance view matches local operating reality.
• Track phishing volume alongside response efficiency Report monthly phishing counts and handling speed together so a faster average does not conceal rising total workload.

Bottom line: The article shows that a lower industry average can coexist with a higher actual bill for teams that have not improved their own handling speed.

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