That’s so true, that phishing has now become one of the most successful and popular hacking techniques out there. In fact, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has found that phishing attacks were the most common type of cybercrime during 2020, a trend that doesn’t seem to be declining any time soon.
So, since we’re living in a world where phishing is a palpable and ubiquitous phenomenon, it’s better if we understand what it’s all about, why it’s so popular, and what you can do to reduce the risk of falling victim to it.
What Is Phishing?
As you can imagine, “phishing” comes phone number list from “fishing,” as the attack basically consists of using bait to catch prey. A more formal definition of phishing would say that it’s a technique through which malicious actors try to acquire sensitive information by using deceitful means that make them appear as legitimate and reputable businesses or individuals.
The most common form of phishing comes through email. For instance, hackers use emails to lure people into giving away their bank account information or their login data for streaming services. Naturally, there are other phishing schemes, mostly through fraudulent websites and fake phone calls.
Types of Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks can be classified depending how data science can change the way you manage strategic risks on how they are delivered, how sophisticated they are, or who they target. Thus, the most common types of phishing you should watch out for today include:
- Advanced Malware Phishing. This is the typical phishing attack that has evolved into a new form that’s harder to detect automatically and more deceiving. They often disguise themselves as official communications from well-known entities (from big corporations to government agencies and organizations) and prompt recipients to provide personal information or download an infected file.
- Vishing. Hackers also use phone calls to get their target’s personal information. The name “vishing” comes from “voice phishing” and it’s exactly what it sounds like: Someone calls the target and convinces them that they need to provide certain data to avoid going into debt, being arrested, having bank accounts shut down, or other similar threats.
Why Is Phishing So Popular?
The fast increase in the number of phishing attacks throughout 2020 wasn’t a coincidence. Last year’s events substantially increased the chances of success of phishing attacks. That, in combination with long-standing psychological and technical factors, is what’s making phishing the most popular kind of attack today.
If we were to make a list of the reasons chile business directory behind phishing’s popularity, we could boil them down to 3 things:
- Remote work. Once the pandemic struck, businesses quickly adopted remote work to keep moving forward. Thus, people started working at their homes, using their own devices through their domestic internet connections.