Spear phishing can be incredibly dangerous due to its targeted and deceptive nature. It can affect people all their personalise data such as bank details, company or any organization details which can highly put them in danger.
Back then in 2016 when an American political consultant “John Podesta” was spear-phished during his 2016 election campaign, he clicked on a link spoofing Google web page that said someone had used his password and urged him to change it. A hacker in 2014 stole nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. Over 47,000 victims were affected by spear phishing till year 2015.
What is spear phishing?
In spear phishing schemes hackers target you pretending to be individuals and businesses you know and trick you into clicking on links that download malware on your computer. So that the hackers can obtain sensitive information like your login and password they might ask for your login credentials credit card information or other personal details.
How do attackers spear-phish you?
Spear phishing is a matter of patience. sometimes attackers spend a week or even a month monitoring their targeted fish, they keep their eye targeting you. they know which website you surf, where you share account details, what you buy online and many other methods. Here are the top main reasons why you get spear phished.
- Research
- Content manipulation
- Creating a convincing message
- Tracking and monitoring
- Leveraging psychological Tactics
1. Research – Attackers gather information about their target. this can include personal details, work relationships, company structure, recent news, and other relevant information. this research helps them craft a convincing message.
2. Content manipulation – The email may contain malicious attachment links to phishing websites, or requests for sensitive information these elements are designed to manipulate the target into taking a specific action like clicking a link or providing login credentials.
3. Creating a convincing message – Attackers craft a well-written and persuasive email or message that seems plausible to target the message and might use correct names, titles, and details to make it appear authentic.
4. Tracking and monitoring – Some attackers use tracking pixels or web beacons in their email to monitor when and if the recipient opens the message or clicks on links. this provides them with valuable feedback on the success of their attack.
5. Leveraging psychological tactics – Attackers often use emotional triggers to manipulate the target. this might include creating a sense of urgency or fear or appealing to the recipient’s curiosity.
What is the difference between “whaling and spear phishing?”
As you can guess by its name whaling means the biggest fish in the ocean this is the same as spear phishing but hear attacker catches a bigger fish. they attack senior players at an organization and directly target senior or other important individuals at an organization to steal money or sensitive information. But as in spear phishing, they catch smaller and targeted fish of the ocean, which means whose pockets are a little higher.
Top 5 ways to avoid spear phishing attack!
- Providing knowledge to your team
- Use strong email Authentication
- Implement multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
- User Verification
- Restrict user permission
1. Providing knowledge to your team
Knowing the internet is important that is why you should train your employees on how they can recognize phishing attempts including spear phishing regularly conduct security awareness training to keep them informed about the latest threats.
2. Use strong email Authentication
Implement technologies like DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting and conformance) to authenticate your email, making it harder for attackers to spoof your Domain.
3. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Require MFA for all your systems and services. This Adds a layer of security and makes it much harder for attackers to compromise accounts.
4. User verification
Before sharing sensitive information or making important transactions, Implement a verification process to confirm the identity of the requesting party.
5. Restrict user permission
limit user access to sensitive information, employees should only have access to the data necessary for their roles. As you know less transparency less risk. A
Above all the information is for help and guidance. It can not prevent you from phishing because it is all just internet information, you are well educated you know how things work always keep in mind not to click on unknown links.
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