Phishing Attacks
Phishing and spear phishing remain popular attacks due to the fact that users still find them difficult to recognize. Cybercriminals are becoming more accomplished every year, running their operations like businesses. They are starting to act like true email marketers, personalizing their messages carefully, which results in their phishing emails looking very real to users. With the influx of emails, messages, and information in fast-paced working environments, it’s easy to fall into the trap by clicking on a bad link or responding to a phishing email by accident.
Cybercriminals do their homework thoroughly, investigating their target organization and digging deep to find as much information as possible so they can carefully craft personal messages using their targets’ names, job titles, direct reports, etc. Social media platforms are making their “job” even easier, giving them access to plenty of personal information to help them craft their messages.
Nearly 91% of cyberattacks and the resulting breaches begin with an initial (spear) phishing email. Phishing, spoofing, and impersonation attacks are increasingly used by cybercriminals to trick email users. The attacks are designed to:
- Steal money, intellectual property, and business sensitive data
- Harvest sensitive user information like usernames, passwords, credit card details, insurance, and health related information
- Spread malware
Phishing Techniques
There are a number of different techniques used to obtain personal information from users. As technology becomes more advanced, the cybercriminals’ techniques being used are also more advanced.
To prevent Internet phishing, users should have knowledge of how the bad guys do this and they should also be aware of anti-phishing techniques to protect themselves from becoming victims.
To learn more about phishing campaign looks like, its scary consequences, and the steps you can take to protect email against these attacks, check out our blog post below