Cybercrime is on the rise as our society becomes more digitally dependent. Phishing is a frequent form of cyber attack. Keeping safe online requires understanding how cybercriminals use phishing tactics and spotting them.
Hackers use phishing operations to steal sensitive info like login credentials and credit card numbers.
Attackers send emails, texts, or social media messages with malicious links or attachments that look legitimate. Once the victim clicks on the link or downloads the attachment, the attacker can access their sensitive information.
The most common type of phishing attack is email phishing [view source]. It entails sending out as many emails as possible in the hope that some will click on the malicious link or attachment. These emails are typically generic, with no personal information about the victim.
Phishing emails are typically sent to a large number of people, usually to get them to reveal sensitive information (such as login credentials) or download malicious software. These emails are sent out under false pretenses, making the recipient believe they need to take immediate action. These attacks make an email look legitimate by spoofing the “from” address, causing the recipient to believe that the email came from a trusted source.
Spam sent via the “snowshoeing” or “hit-and-run” technique is typically sent from many domains and IP addresses. Due to the low message volume sent from each IP address, spam filtering methods that rely on sender reputation or message volume are slow to identify and quarantine spam. Some of the messages get through the filters and into the inboxes.
Some hailstorm attacks conclude just as anti-spam technologies learn of the pattern and upgrade their filters to prevent future communications; by this time, however, the attackers have moved on to a new campaign.
Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack that is more targeted [view source]. The attacker conducts research on the victim in order to craft a more personalized email that includes information about their job, hobbies, or social media activity. This makes the email appear more legitimate, increasing the victim’s likelihood of clicking on the malicious link or attachment.
It may be more profitable for an attacker to go after a small number of firms rather than 1,000 individual individuals who use the same bank. A government employee or official at another government agency may be the target of an attack by a foreign country seeking to steal confidential information.
Spear phishing attacks are highly effective because the attackers spend significant time customizing information for the target. This may include sending a malicious attachment with a filename that references a topic of interest to the target or referencing a conference that the target may have recently attended.
Here’s an example:
In a 2017 phishing campaign, Group 74 (also known as Sofact, APT28, and Fancy Bear) targeted cybersecurity professionals with an email purporting to be associated with the Cyber Conflict U.S. conference, an event organized by the United States Military Academy’s Army Cyber Institute, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Military Academy, and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. While CyCon is a legitimate conference, the attachment contained a malicious Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro that would download and execute Seduploader reconnaissance malware.
Whaling is a type of phishing attack that targets high-profile people like CEOs or government officials. The emails are designed to appear to be from a reliable source, such as a senior executive in the victim’s organization. The attacker hopes that because the email appears to be from someone they know and trust, the victim will respond more quickly.
Whaling demands further study because the attacker has to know who and what the victim talks about. Customer complaints, legal subpoenas, and executive issues are examples. Before creating a whale assault phishing message, attackers utilize social engineering to learn about the victim and enterprise.
Business email compromise (BEC) schemes and CEO email fraud target finance and accounting executives in addition to conventional phishing attempts. These fraudsters impersonate financial officers and CEOs to deceive victims into transferring money to unapproved accounts.
An existing infection or spear phishing attack compromises a top executive or financial officer’s email. The attacker lurks and analyzes the executive’s email activity to discover company operations. A fake email from the hijacked executive’s account is sent to a regular recipient. The urgent email requires a wire transfer to a foreign bank account. The attacker gets the money.
According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group’s Q2 2020 Phishing Activity Trends Report [view source], “BEC attacks are increasing average wire transfer loss: Second-quarter 2020 wire transfer attempts averaged $80,183.”
Clone phishing is a type of phishing attack in which a copy of a legitimate email is created and the links or attachments are replaced with malicious ones [view source]. The attacker then sends the email to the victim, hoping that the differences between the original and the clone will go unnoticed. This type of phishing attack is especially dangerous because the victim may believe the email is legitimate and disregard all precautions.
An attacker who has infected one user may employ this approach against another user who got the cloned mail. The attacker may even establish a cloned website with a faked domain.
Smishing is another type of phishing attack that involves sending a text message instead of an email. The attacker may send a message that appears to be from a reputable source, such as a bank or government agency, and requests that the victim click on a link or provide sensitive information. Smishing attacks are becoming more common because many people trust text messages more than emails [view source].
Smishing is on the rise because people are more likely to read and respond to text messages than email: 98% of text messages are read and 45% are responded to, compared to 20% and 6% for email. Furthermore, users are often less vigilant for suspicious messages on their phones than they are on their computers, and personal devices generally lack the type of security available on corporate PCs.
To avoid falling for a phishing scam, it’s vital that you know how to spot one when you see one. Examples of typical warning indicators of a phishing assault include:
Don’t just delete that strange email or message. There has been a rise in the frequency and sophistication of phishing attempts, which are used by hackers to gain access to personal information. Here is what you can do to safeguard yourself if you get a strange email or message:
If you follow these guidelines, you will be less likely to give up sensitive information to a phisher. If you don’t want to fall victim to cybercrime, it’s best to exercise caution and report strange emails.
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