Spear-phishing is a targeted attempt to steal sensitive information such as account credentials or financial information from a specific victim, often for malicious reasons. This is the most successful form of acquiring confidential information on the internet, accounting for 91% of attacks.

What is meant by the term spearfishing?

Wiktionary. spearfishingnoun. a form of fishing in which the fisherman attempts to impale the fish upon a spear, which can be thrust or thrown by hand, or with a spear gun.

What is Smushing in cyber security?

Smishing is a closely related phishing attack that also uses phone numbers. But instead of voice mail, smishing uses text messages to trick users. These messages could contain a phone number for a targeted user to call or a link to an attacker-controlled website hosting malware or a phishing page.

What is computer phishing?

“Phishing” is a scam where thieves attempt to steal personal or financial account information by sending deceptive electronic messages that trick unsuspecting consumers into disclosing personal information.

What is phishing and types of phishing?

Phishing attacks are the practice of sending fraudulent communications that appear to come from a reputable source. It is usually done through email. The goal is to steal sensitive data like credit card and login information, or to install malware on the victim’s machine.

What are the two major types of phishing?

Types of phishing attacks

  • Spear phishing. Spear phishing targets specific individuals instead of a wide group of people.
  • Whaling. When attackers go after a “big fish” like a CEO, it’s called whaling.
  • Pharming. Similar to phishing, pharming sends users to a fraudulent website that appears to be legitimate.

What is meant by spear phishing?

Spear phishing is an email-spoofing attack that targets a specific organization or individual, seeking unauthorized access to sensitive information. Spear-phishing attempts are not typically initiated by random hackers, but are more likely to be conducted by perpetrators out for financial gain, trade secrets or military information.

What is an example of spear phishing?

The definition of spear phishing is the practice of sending emails that appear to be from a known sender in order to induce the receiver to reveal their confidential information. An example of spear phishing is sending an email that appears to be coming from PayPal asking for your social security number.

What is the difference between phishing and spear phishing?

Origins: Phishing has been around for a longer time than spear phishing.

  • Attack vector: Phishing is enacted en masse vs. more targeted spear phishing.
  • Target psychology: Spear phishing banks on social engineering,not luck.
  • Technology: Phishing relies on malicious links vs.

    • What is a characteristic of spear phishing?

    Spear phishing is a variation on phishing in which hackers send emails to groups of people with specific common characteristics or other identifiers. Spear phishing emails appear to come from a trusted source but are designed to help hackers obtain trade secrets or other classified information.