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The 2025 GigaOm Anti-Phishing Radar: Key Takeaways for Navigating the Evolving Email Threat Landscape

Written by Jenna Knoblauch | Nov 13, 2025

As email remains the top vector for cyberattacks, the sophistication and scale of phishing tactics continue to evolve—often faster than traditional defenses can keep up. That’s why GigaOm’s 2025 Anti-Phishing Radar Report has become a critical tool for security leaders looking to evaluate modern email security solutions with real-world context and technical depth.

Unlike traditional analyst firms that often prioritize market presence or marketing narratives, GigaOm’s radar is built from a practitioner-first perspective. Every contributor to the report is either a former or current hands-on security practitioner. This approach results in a report that is refreshingly grounded in operational reality and focused on what truly matters—capability, usability, and strategic readiness.

What Makes GigaOm’s Radar Unique?

The report uses three evaluation dimensions:

  • Table Stakes: These are non-negotiable baseline capabilities a vendor must offer to be included. They're not scored—either a product meets the criteria or it doesn’t.
  • Key Features: These are the differentiators. Scored on a scale from 0 to 5, key features reflect capabilities that matter most to buyers, such as:

    • AI-enhanced threat protection
    • Security stack integration
    • Multi-channel integrations
    • Security awareness and training tools
    • Threat intelligence integration
    • Automated response and remediation
  • Emerging Features: These highlight cutting-edge capabilities expected to gain relevance in the next 12–36 months. Notably, deepfake phishing prevention and Wi-Fi phishing protection were called out - indicating that tomorrow’s threats will be more multimedia-driven, personalized, and context-aware.

The radar visual is a 360-degree graphic. Closer to the center generally signals stronger solutions, but it's not a rigid “up-and-to-the-right” quadrant like other industry tools. Placement is meant to reflect nuance, aligning capabilities with different buyer needs rather than assigning a universal “best.”

AI: The Double-Edged Sword in Email Security

AI has rapidly become both a defense mechanism and an attack enabler. Boards and CISOs are enthusiastic about AI’s role in strengthening email defenses—but attackers are just as empowered.

We’re seeing a renaissance in Business Email Compromise (BEC), now supercharged by generative AI. Attackers can now spin up hyper-personalized phishing campaigns using deepfake voice, video, and even cloned writing styles. This isn’t yesterday’s phishing—it’s next-gen social engineering, delivered across email, collaboration tools, and social platforms like LinkedIn or Teams.

This escalation underscores the growing need for AI-driven, human-informed defenses. GigaOm’s report emphasizes the value of “human-in-the-loop” models - where AI handles scale and speed, but human input drives ongoing learning and resilience.

From Point Solutions to Platforms

The report surfaces a significant shift: security buyers overwhelmingly prefer platforms over point solutions. Around 97% of technologies buyers evaluate now are expected to function as part of a broader, integrated ecosystem.

Why? Simplicity.

Security teams are stretched thin. They’re managing alerts, user education, vendor risk assessments, and compliance reporting - often all at once. Consolidated platforms reduce complexity, cut down on vendor sprawl, and enable faster implementation of new capabilities.

That doesn’t mean point solutions are irrelevant. If a niche solution delivers immediate, cost-effective value and integrates cleanly with the existing tech stack, it can still be a smart move. But for most organizations, platforms offer a more scalable, manageable path forward.

Email Security is Just the Beginning

Phishing isn’t just an email problem anymore. Attackers are coordinating across text, voice, video, and collaboration platforms. Email security solutions must now address a wider ecosystem of threats.

That’s why the best anti-phishing tools today offer capabilities like:

  • Multi-channel threat detection
  • Real-time user training
  • Adaptive threat modeling
  • API-based integration with SOC and threat intel platforms

Looking ahead, security leaders need to adopt tools that can evolve with the threat landscape - not just solve for the phishing of today, but prepare for the coordinated, AI-driven attacks of tomorrow.

 

Download the full GigaOm Anti-Phishing Radar Report to see which vendors lead the way and how to future-proof your email security strategy.


Watch the webinar recording featuring GigaOm Field CTO, Chris Ray and IRONSCALES CMO, Grant Ho.