Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a personalized, targeted cyber attack that uses your interest to trick you into clicking a malicious link in an email.

Spear phishing is a targeted attack that uses information from social media, work emails, and other sources to launch a one-on-one phishing attack against an individual.

Spear phishing is more dangerous than mass phishing because it uses your personal information (for example, your interest) to gain your trust. This technique is used mostly by cybercriminals to gather information about your organization so they can exploit vulnerabilities and cause maximum disruption.

The biggest threat of spear-phishing is the damage that it inflicts on the reputation of your business. Whether it’s a fake CEO email asking for personal details, spoofing a supplier to gain access to their systems, or tricking staff into installing malware on their computer, every instance of spear-phishing can leave staff feeling anxious and vulnerable. In some cases, they get too embarrassed to admit that they fell for a scam, which means the issue could be overlooked and remain undetected for a long period of time.

Spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing. If you receive an email from someone you barely know requesting sensitive personal information, don’t give it out. These emails are usually not sent randomly. The sender may know the person they are trying to scam, including their personal details and interests. They might even know their phone number and address.

Spear phishing can also target people in an organization, such as employees in a particular department or company executives. These attackers usually pretend to be someone whom your business deals with on a regular basis, such as a supplier or customer. Therefore, you should open all types of emails with caution.