A phishing attack is a cyberattack strategy that seeks to deceive users in order to obtain some benefit. This attack is most common through fake emails, but it can also be carried out through banners and advertisements on websites, social media messages, phone calls, and SMS.
The targets of these attacks can be ordinary users, seeking login data for accounts, banks, cards and portals, and even companies aiming to carry out financial transactions.
With the help of social engineering, criminals use tricks and disguise themselves as companies, brands, and people known to or familiar to the victim. Understand better how social engineering works with this video:
In most cases, the main objective of this attack is to get the victim to provide sensitive data, such as personal documents, bank information, passwords, confidential files, and more.
Another strategy used in phishing is malicious links, which, when accessed, redirect the victim to a fake website or install files containing viruses and malware.
How this scam can affect your business
Phishing targets are generally not specific and can cause significant damage to a company . This type of attack can occur in various locations and affect any type of user. Below are some examples:
Common phishing
This tactic is broader and doesn't have any specific target. In this phishing attack, a mass email is sent out, possibly disguised as a company, group, or service that the victim may already be familiar with. Because it's a more comprehensive scam, the criminal relies solely on chance and luck to collect user information or install malicious files that could facilitate other types of attacks.
Spear phishing
This type of attack targets a specific group of victims. In this case, it can be carried out against company employees, brand customers, government agencies, among others. The goal of this type of phishing is to access sensitive data such as: confidential files, user and customer information, or financial reports.
Clone phishing
With this attack, cybercriminals create an identical copy of a legitimate website to lure their victims. They can create websites for large companies, e-commerce sites, government pages, banks, or any institution with high user traffic . As a result, the user becomes confused, accessing the page and entering their personal information, such as account numbers, passwords, login details, personal documents, and more.
Whaling
Originating from the word "whale," this type of attack focuses on targeting individuals with greater relevance, purchasing power, visibility, or who hold high-level positions in companies. They may seek to collect information from CEOs, directors, managers, etc. To pique the victims' interest, these attacks may include false notifications about the company, such as court summons.
Vishing
Like conventional phishing, this attack also seeks to collect confidential and personal data from victims. However, it is carried out through a direct voice call to the victim's phone. With a convincing approach, this attack manages to deceive the victim and obtain financial advantages through fraud.
Smishing
Using SMS services, this type of phishing attack aims to trick the user into clicking a malicious link that indicates the user must open it to obtain a prize, verify login information, check an extrajudicial notification, or receive some kind of payment.
Phishing through social media
Irresistible promotions, discount campaigns, and tagging in posts are all tactics used in phishing attacks on social media. Using fake profiles of large companies, these criminals seek to solicit data and information from victims, and even demand fraudulent payments .
Which companies are likely to be targets of phishing?
Generally speaking, there is no "ideal profile" of a company that can suffer a phishing attack. Virtually any company that has any process or system connected to the internet can be a target. For this reason, more and more users may be subject to all types of cyberattacks, making it essential for companies to have an internet usage policy that helps increase the security of their information and protect their devices in the best possible way.
Employees need to be very aware of internet use within the company and know how to identify potential pitfalls that could harm the business.
Furthermore, the company can also use access control tools to help keep this type of threat away from users and prevent unauthorized access, such as to entertainment websites, social networks, e-commerce sites, and others, which increase the chance of some users falling victim to this type of scam.
Since phishing targets are not specific , it is very important for all businesses to find smart ways to protect their resources and information.
Is protection possible?
The main tip for protecting yourself from this type of scam is to pay close attention to unsolicited, anonymous content that contains meaningless sequences of letters and numbers, spelling and grammatical errors, etc. These are the main warning signs that the content might be a trap.
In the case of emails received on behalf of friends or colleagues, it is also important to pay attention to warning signs , such as: whether the writing style is consistent with the sender's profile, whether they mention your name, whether the content is generic, among other information.
It is very common for phishing emails to contain threats such as "if this email is not answered within 48 hours, your account or access will be canceled." This type of email usually contains links to pages or forms where you enter your information .
As we mentioned earlier, your company can rely on an efficient internet access control tool to help prevent certain types of access that could lead to virtual traps.
