Phishing Explained
Phishing is a type of cyber attack where hackers attempt to steal a victim’s personal information, account credentials and/or money. Cybercriminals use phishing to trick people into clicking links or sending their information to malicious servers, and the attackers will then steal the victims’ information and/or download malware on their devices. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report, phishing is the most common cause for data breaches, accounting for 15% of all breaches.
Cybercriminals spend a lot of time perfecting phishing emails and making them look authentic. For example, phishers will mimic a legitimate company’s logo, branding and colors to make the message appear to be from a trusted source. They might also try to impersonate specific brands that the target frequently interacts with, such as banks or online retailers. These tactics can be effective, as they target individuals with a familiar brand, and can lead to higher success rates when the targets respond to the message.
After determining their targets, attackers start the attack phase by scanning for vulnerabilities that they can exploit. These may include bugs in software programs, such as buffer overflows or cross-domain vulnerabilities, or unpatched issues known as “zero-day” flaws. They can also purchase access to compromised hosts, which allow them to steal user information without having to exploit any vulnerabilities (Ollmann, 2004).
Once attackers have the infrastructure set up, they can launch a phishing attack against their targeted victims through one of many different mediums, including email, SMS messages (smishing), phone calls (vishing) and even spoofing public Wi-Fi using fake hotspots (evil twin phishing). Attackers inject a sense of urgency into their messages to encourage targets to take immediate action and don’t consider whether an offer is legitimate or if they should trust it.