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What is Phishing? Understanding Enterprise Phishing Threats

Phishing is a fraudulent practice where attackers impersonate reputable entities or individuals to trick users into revealing sensitive information. Phishing typically occurs through emails or other communications carrying malicious links or attachments designed to extract login credentials, account numbers, and personal details. Deceptive phishing is prevalent because it's simpler to deceive someone into clicking a harmful link in a seemingly legitimate email than to breach a computer's security. Understanding phishing is essential for users to recognize and prevent it.

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities. Attackers impersonate trusted contacts, often using public social media sources like LinkedIn and Facebook to gather personal information about potential victims. By crafting believable phishing emails, cybercriminals aim to prompt victims into clicking malicious links or opening harmful attachments.

Phishing emails often look credible, containing familiar logos and urgent requests. Even as many phishing messages are poorly written, cybercriminals increasingly leverage AI tools to create more convincing phishing attacks. Other methods, including voice phishing, use AI-generated voices of executives to further deceive targets.

Attackers deploy phishing for various malicious purposes, including financial gain, identity theft, and malware distribution. The targets range from individuals to businesses, with heightened attention towards employees of organizations, executives, and customers of popular online services. Given the sophisticated nature of these attacks, awareness and effective security measures are paramount in safeguarding against phishing threats.