What Is Phishing? How Does This Cyber Attack Work And How To Prevent It
Definition of phishing The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing the message is something they want or need - a request from the bank, for example, or a note from someone in their company - and to click on a link or download an attachment. What really defines phishing is the form the message takes: Attackers masquerade as a trusted entity of some kind, often a real or real person, or company the victim might do business with. It is one of the oldest types of cyberattacks, dating back to the 1990s, and it remains one of the most prevalent and malicious attacks, as phishing messages and techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The word “Phish” is pronounced exactly as it is spelled, ie like the word “fish” - the analogy is that the fisherman throws a hook with bait there (phishing email) and hopes to bite. The term originated in the mid-1990s among hackers to trick AOL users into giving away their login information. Nearly a third of all violations in the pa...