Email phishing attacks are a form of social engineering commonly used to obtain sensitive user information, such as login information and credit card details. It occurs when an attacker impersonates a trusted entity and convinces a victim to open an email, instant message, or text message. The recipient is subsequently duped into clicking a malicious link, which may result in malware installation, system lock or blocking during a ransomware attempt, or the disclosure of sensitive information.
The effects of an attack can be devastating. This involves illicit purchases, theft of funds, and identity theft.
In addition, phishing attacks are frequently used to gain access to business or government networks as part of a broader attack, including an APT (advanced persistent threat) incident. In this scenario, personnel is compromised to circumvent security perimeters, propagate malware within a closed environment, or get privileged access to protected data.
In addition to a decline in market share, reputation, and consumer trust, a company that falls victim to such an attack generally incurs substantial financial damages. Depending on the scale, a phishing attempt may evolve into a security incident from which an organisation will be unable to recover.
What exactly is phishing?
Phishing attacks are deceptive communications that appear to originate from a reliable source but can compromise any form of data. Attacks can grant access to your online accounts and personal information, obtain permissions to modify and corrupt associated systems, such as point-of-sale terminals and order processing systems, and, in extreme cases, hijack entire networks unless a ransom is paid.
Sometimes, hackers are content to steal your personal information and debit/credit card information for financial benefit. In other instances, phishing emails are sent to collect employee login information and further details for use in more aggressive assaults against specific persons or businesses. Everyone should be aware of phishing to protect themselves and maintain email security throughout a company.
How Do Email Phishing Attacks Work?
Phishing begins with a deceptive email or another contact to entice a target. The message is disguised to appear to originate from a trusted sender. If the victim is duped, they are lured into divulging sensitive information, typically via a fake website. Malware is sometimes also downloaded into the victim’s machine.
Cybercriminals begin by identifying the folks they intend to target. Then, they generate email and SMS messages that appear legitimate but contain malicious links, attachments, or lures that fool their targets into performing an unknown and potentially harmful action. In brief:
- Phishers frequently use fear, curiosity, urgency, and greed to convince victims to open attached files or click on links.
- Phishing attacks are intended to resemble communications from legitimate businesses and individuals.
- Cybercriminals are constantly inventing and advancing in sophistication.
- One effective phishing attack is all it takes to corrupt your network and steal your identity, so you should always think before you click.
Some Common Phishing Techniques
1. Email Phishing Attacks
Email phishing attacks are just a game of numbers. An attacker sending hundreds of false communications can obtain considerable information and substantial amounts of money, even if only a few recipients fall for the deception. As noted above, attackers utilise various tactics to boost their success rates.
First, they will take considerable measures to create phishing messages that appear to originate from a legitimate firm. The announcements appear real using the exact text, typefaces, logos, and signatures.
In addition, attackers will typically strive to induce a sense of urgency in their targets. As previously demonstrated, an email might threaten account expiration and set a countdown for the receiver. This type of pressure encourages the user to be less careful and more prone to making mistakes.
Lastly, links within communications mirror their exact counterparts but often include a misspelled domain name or additional subdomains. In the preceding illustration, the URL myuniversity.edu/renewal was modified to myuniversity.edurenewal.com. Similarities between the two addresses create the sense of a secure link, making the recipient less conscious of an attack.
2. Spear phishing
There are two other, more sophisticated Email Phishing Attacks.
The first technique, spear phishing, involves sending fraudulent emails to a specific individual. These criminals will already possess some or all of the following details on the victim:
- Name
- Job description
- Location of employment
- Detailed information regarding their work function
- Email address
- Reliable coworkers, relatives, or other contacts, as well as samples of their writing
The fraudster can contact the individual by name and (probably) is aware that the individual’s employment entails making bank transactions on behalf of the organisation.
The email’s informality also indicates that the sender is a native English speaker and gives the impression that this is a genuine message rather than one generated from a template.
3. Angler Phishing
These assaults utilise fake social media profiles that impersonate reputable companies. The attacker uses a username that imitates a legitimate organisation (e.g., “@ebaysupport.com”) and the same profile image as the legitimate firm’s account.
Using social media channels, attackers exploit consumers’ propensity to lodge complaints and seek assistance from brands. However, the consumer contacts the attacker’s bogus social account rather than the legitimate brand.
When attackers receive such a request, they may ask the consumer for personal information to identify the problem and respond correctly. In other instances, the attacker provides a link to a malicious website that poses as a customer support page.
4. Phishing and Whales
Whale phishing is precisely what it sounds like: Phishing that targets prominent individuals. This includes celebrities, politicians, and C-suite executives. Typically, the attacker attempts to convince these well-known targets to reveal their personal information and business credentials. Typically, whaling attacks entail social engineering to convince the victim to believe the deceit.
5. Vishing and Smishing (SMS or text message phishing)
Telephones are used instead of email as the mode of contact in both smishing and vishing. Smishing involves criminals sending text messages with content similar to Email Phishing, whereas vishing involves a telephone conversation.
Messages purporting to be from your bank, notifying you of unusual activity, are among the most popular smishing pretexts.
The message implies that you have fallen victim to fraud and instructs you to click on a link to prevent future damage. However, the link leads the receiver to a website under the fraudster’s control designed to steal your banking information.
6. Search Engine Phishing?
Search engine phishing, often known as SEO poisoning or SEO Trojans, is when cybercriminals attempt to get the top search engine result. When you click on the link listed in the search engine, you are redirected to the hacker’s website. Threat actors can then steal your information when you engage with the website and enter sensitive information. Hacker sites can pose as any website, but banks, social media, money transfer sites, and shopping sites are especially likely targets.
How to Prevent Phishing Attacks?
To protect against phishing attacks, both users and businesses must take action. User vigilance is crucial. Typically, spoofed communication has subtle errors that reveal its genuine identity. These can include misspellings or alterations to domain names, as demonstrated in the previous URL example. Additionally, users should consider why they are receiving such an email.
Several methods can be used by businesses to mitigate phishing and spear phishing attacks:
- 2FA (Two-factor authentication) is the most effective way to defend against phishing attempts, as it provides an additional layer of verification when accessing sensitive apps. Two-factor authentication requires users to have two things: something they know, such as a username and password, and something they have, such as a smartphone. Even if an employee’s credentials are compromised, 2FA prohibits them from being used because they are insufficient to gain entrance.
- In addition to utilising two-factor authentication, enterprises should implement stringent password management rules. For instance, employees should be required to update their passwords frequently and prohibited from reusing them across multiple platforms.
- Education efforts can reduce the risk of phishing attempts by promoting specific behaviours, such as avoiding links in external emails.
Bottom Line
Specialised techniques, such as spam filters, can mitigate the risk of phishing, although these have repeatedly proven unreliable.
Regularly, malicious emails will still get through, and when this occurs, the only thing standing between your organization and a breach is your employees’ ability to detect and respond to their fraudulent nature.
The Phishing Training and Awareness Course teaches employees how to do just that, what occurs when individuals fall prey to phishing, and how to limit the potential of an attack.