Optery Releases 2026 Enterprise Social Engineering Survey Report

Survey of 421 cybersecurity leaders finds data brokers are viewed as the top attacker intelligence source, while employee data reduction ranks as the top defense and investment priority

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optery today announced the release of its 2026 Enterprise Social Engineering Survey Report, The Data Behind the Deception, based on a survey of 421 cybersecurity leaders across large enterprises.

The report shows a clear shift in how large enterprises are responding to targeted social engineering. Cybersecurity leaders identified data broker and people-search sites as the most significant source of attacker intelligence enabling these attacks, ahead of social platforms and breach data. They also ranked reducing publicly available employee data as both the most widely used proactive defense and the largest investment priority.

Nearly all respondents reported an increase in targeted social engineering over the past 12 months, and approximately three-quarters reported credential compromise resulting from these attacks. The findings point to a central enabler: attackers can easily obtain the personal and professional data needed to identify, profile, and target or impersonate employees. In response, security teams are increasingly focused on addressing the exposed employee data that fuels social engineering in the first place.

“Data broker exposure is not a theoretical risk for organizations,” said Lawrence Gentilello, CEO and founder of Optery. “Leaked ransomware group communications, incident investigations, and government advisories have all shown threat actors using data brokers to identify employees, map organizations, and support targeted social engineering. This report shows that enterprise security leaders are recognizing the same pattern and responding by reducing the employee data attackers use to launch these attacks.”

The report also highlights how attacks are distributed across channels, with organizations reporting confirmed incidents spanning social media, voice, SMS, email, and spoofed domains. No single channel dominates, creating a complex attack surface where defensive strength varies.

Because attacks are reaching employees across many channels and producing compromise, organizations are placing greater emphasis on reducing the exposed personal data attackers use to find and target employees. A strong majority agree that limiting exposed employee data reduces social engineering risk. Most respondents reported that their organizations have implemented or are developing programs to reduce exposed employee data, and the vast majority plan to expand personal data removal coverage across their workforce.

“Targeted social engineering is putting real pressure on enterprise security teams, but the most important finding is where organizations are focusing their response,” said Paul Mander, CCO and General Manager of Optery for Business. “Security leaders are identifying data broker and people-search sites as a major source of attacker intelligence, and they are prioritizing employee data exposure reduction as a result. That points to a meaningful shift in how enterprises are thinking about social engineering defense.”

Additional findings from the report include:

• Attacks are personalized using exposed data, with the majority of respondents reporting tailored targeting of employees
• Respondents believe employee personal and professional data is easily discoverable online, including corporate email format patterns, personal mobile numbers, personal email addresses, home addresses, job titles, reporting structures, and family or associate names
• 77.4% believe employee data is very or somewhat exposed on data broker and people-search sites
• IT and identity-focused roles are the most frequently targeted, significantly ahead of executives
• 76.5% categorize reducing publicly exposed employee data as either a core security initiative or supporting security measure
• More than three-quarters of respondents say limiting employee personal data online is critical or very important as AI-generated attacks become more scalable
• 82.2% plan to expand personal data removal coverage in the next 12 months
  

The report is based on research conducted by independent agency TrendCandy on behalf of Optery and reflects the perspectives of large-enterprise cybersecurity leaders, primarily at the director, vice president, and executive levels. The margin of error is approximately ±4.8% at a 95% confidence level.

The full report is available here: https://www.optery.com/2026-optery-enterprise-social-engineering-survey-report

About Optery

Optery is the first company to offer a free report with dozens of screenshots showing where your personal information is being posted by hundreds of data brokers online, and the first to offer security teams a completely self-service platform for finding and removing employee personal information from the web. Optery subscription plans automatically remove customers from these sites, clearing your home address, phone number, email, and other personal information from the Internet at scale. The service provides users with a proactive defense against escalating PII-based threats such as phishing and other social engineering attacks, credential compromise, identity fraud, doxing, and harassment. Optery has completed its AICPA SOC 2, Type II security attestation, and distinguishes itself with unparalleled search technology, data removal automation, visual evidence-based before-and-after reporting, data broker coverage, and API integration options. Optery was named a PCMag Editors’ Choice for personal data removal in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026; was ranked No. 12 Fastest-Growing Private Company in the 2026 Inc. Regionals: Pacific list; received Cyber Defense Magazine’s Market Disruptor Award in Digital Risk Protection in 2026; won Cybersecurity Excellence Awards in Human Risk Management, Anti-Phishing, and Attack Surface Management in 2026; and earned a Globee® Award for Cybersecurity, Social Engineering (Best of Category) in 2026. The company also won the Top InfoSec Innovator Award for Most Innovative Anti-Phishing from Cyber Defense Magazine in 2025, was recognized in SiliconANGLE’s TechForward Awards in the Digital Risk Protection Platform category in 2025, received the Fortress Cybersecurity Award for Privacy Enhancing Technologies in 2025, earned Cybersecurity Excellence Awards in Employee Privacy Protection, Attack Surface Management, and Digital Footprint Management in 2024 and 2025, was named Best Service for Attack Surface Management from Cyber Defense Magazine, received Top InfoSec Innovator Award for Attack Surface Management by Cyber Defense Magazine for 2024, and received Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech award for security and privacy in 2023. Hundreds of thousands of people and over 1,000 businesses use Optery to prevent attacks and keep their personal information off the Internet. For more information, visit www.optery.com.

Media Contact

Sara Trammell
Optery for Business
sara@optery.com

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