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You might have received an email or text message saying, Youve won an iPhone 12!
Next, you will be guided to tap on a link to claim the offer.
The attackers send more personalized emails looking genuine and tricking people into revealing confidential information and sending money.
But how to stay protected from such attacks, and most importantly, how to detect one?
In this article, Ill discuss spear phishing and answer these questions.
So, stay tuned!
What Is Phishing?
Hackers may do this for financial gains by leveraging your credit card details and personal data.
They may also demand a ransom to give back the systems, networks, and data.
In other cases, the hacker may trick employees into stealing business information to target a company.
Things that constitute a phishing campaign are:
What Is Spear Phishing?
This leads the target to expose sensitive information or install malicious programs unknowingly on their organizational internet.
Phishing vs.
Both are cyberattacks targeted at specific individuals or businesses to gain confidential information through emails and messages.
They aim to cast a wider net and venture to catch any victim to gain information or money.
Example:An example of a phishing campaign can be something like this Youve won an iPhone XI.
Its not geared at a specific individual but anyone who clicks on the link provided to claim the prize.
It also doesnt reveal where and how you win a contest.
Its targeted at a bigger audience who can become victims.
However, cybercriminals use both kinds of scams phishing and spear-phishing based on their end goal.
They can employ phishing to increase their chances of success by focusing on quantity over quality.
This way, the receiver is scammed and made to reveal critical information.
Malicious Attachments
This key in of spear phishing is common.
The attacker will also leverage the stolen information and can demand ransomware too.
This will help you assess the address and confirm its integrity.
Banks, video streaming services, etc., are frequently impersonated.
How Does Spear Phishing Work?
Now, scammers also take specific considerations to choose a target.
They usually choose people whose data they can research easily.
Spear phishing is not generally targeted at high-level officials or executives.
They may instead choose someone lacking experience or knowledge as its easy to manipulate them.
They may also collect information about their geographical location, social contacts, email address, etc.
They insert a malicious attachment or link in the email and send it to the target.
Such organizations may also be penalized for not protecting customer data.
Sometimes, the attacker may also demand ransomware to give back the stolen information.
How to Detect Spear Phishing?
Although spear-phishing attacks are sophisticated, there are ways to identify them and stay alert.
For example, an email may come from arnazon and not amazon (Amazon) that we all know.
So, when you receive an email you dont expect, check its sender.
Spell the domain name carefully, and if that looks suspicious, dont engage with it.
It may contain keywords like Urgent, Important, etc.
So, check for such red flags in the subject line and read the whole message carefully.
Dont follow if the email looks suspicious.
So, when you see your name and other personalized information, dont assume it can be trusted.
Instead of revealing the information, call your bank branch and ask if they really need all this.
The answer would be a no because this crucial information is not done over an email or call.
How to Protect Yourself from Spear Phishing?
You may not avoid security incidents altogether but employ specific strategies to be safe.
It creates additional layers of security and reduces the likelihood of an attack.
It also gives you buffer time to spot abnormalities and fix them before the account is hijacked.
Creating Security Awareness
Technology is evolving and so do cyberattacks and techniques.
Hence, its necessary to keep up with the latest risks and know how to detect and prevent them.
Use Email Security Systems
Most spear phishing scams come via emails.
Therefore, protecting your emails with the help of an email security system or software can help.
you’re free to useemail security softwaresuch as Proofpoint, Mimecast, Avanan, etc.
In addition, creating data backups periodically helps you keep your data secure.
So, even if an attack or natural calamity happens, your lost data wont be truly lost.
Hence, it is important to understand and detect cybercrimes like spear phishing to protect yourself and your organization.
Also Read:Best Cyber Threat Maps to Monitor Real-Time Threats
