Avoid becoming the next victim of spear-phishing
Email continues to be the most popular cyber attack surface. Research shows that 91% of cyber attacks starts with an email, of which, 80% reported are spear-phishing attacks. Here is a list of the most popular spear-phishing attack types – explained.
Employee Impersonation
The attacker assumes the identity of the victim, such as an upper level employee, assuming a position of trust with the victim. Exploiting this trust, the attacker can gain access to important corporate information or convince victim to perform a task, like a bank transfer to a malicious account.
Scamming
With email scamming, cybercriminals use fraudulent schemes to defraud victims or steal their identity by tricking them into disclosing personal information.
Blackmail
Online blackmailing is very similar to traditional blackmailing. The attacker will demand a large sum of payment to the victim, claiming they will reveal embarrassing information about them if the payment is not made.
Domain Impersonation
The attacker intentionally misspells the From address or the Web address, altering it slightly in order to fool the victim. The target might respond to a nefarious request, thinking the request is coming from someone they trust.
Service Phishing
The attacker impersonates a well-known service, like a bank or internet service provider, and asks the victim to click the embedded link to log into their account. The victim’s login credentials are stolen by the attacker.
Examples
Download our guide to spear phishing attack types to see examples of the above attack types.
