What is Spear Phishing?

Spear Phishing is a cyberattack in which hackers try to steal personal information or install malware on targeted victims’ devices. This campaign is highly focused, effective, and challenging to detect.

Hackers use spear phishing to steal sensitive data from their targets, such as account details or financial information. Moreover, a spear phishing campaign becomes an efficient cyberattack once a hacker conducts extensive research, frequently gathering personal information about the target.

Its operators commonly stalk their target’s social media accounts to learn things like their name and email address, who their friends are, their birthplace, employer, recent purchase history, and the places they visit.

In addition, these attackers can pose themselves as someone their target trusts, typically a friend or coworker, and seek to obtain sensitive information via email or instant messages.

How Does Spear Phishing Work?

A spear-phishing attack frequently relies on extensive study to boost its chances of success. For example, a hacker may investigate whether employees at a targeted company have access to the most valuable information or the most vulnerable portion of the network.

Next, the hacker will send an email or a series of emails to the targeted employee, commonly containing a link to a fake website that requests the victim’s personal information or access credentials.

When clicked, these malicious links download malware onto the victim’s computer. Threat actors may then request the infected target for usernames and passwords that would provide them access to critical parts of the network or social media accounts.

On the other hand, while spear phishing is a highly successful method for cybercriminals to fraudulently get personal information, steal money, and penetrate organisations, businesses and individuals can protect themselves from these attacks.

Businesses can limit the threat of spear phishing by using solutions such as antivirus software, malware detection, and spam filters. Businesses should also train staff and conduct spear-phishing simulations to help users understand the risks and warning indications of hostile attacks.

How Can a User/Company Avoid or Prevent a Spear Phishing Attack?

1. Companies should enable automatic software upgrades. This practice protects a firm from the latest security threats. It also ensures that email clients, security tools, and web browsers have the highest chance of detecting spear-phishing attempts and mitigating their impact. Also, companies should employ a data protection program and data loss prevention technology to defend against data theft and illegal access.
2. Two-factor or even multi-factor authentication is now necessary for all enterprises and online services. These security features provide an additional layer of safety over checking in to a service with a username and password.
3. One of the most effective strategies to avoid spear-phishing attempts is to have an educated, security-conscious workforce. Every employee in an organisation must understand how to identify sophisticated phishing emails, recognise unfamiliar hyperlinks and email domains, and not be deceived by unusual requests to disclose information.
4. A huge factor of spear-phishing avoidance comes down to people using common sense. For example, firms never send emails requesting usernames, passwords, or access codes; hence, employees should suspect the authenticity of any email requesting personal information. Additionally, staff should never discuss financial or payroll information via email or online without consulting a trusted person. Therefore, every employee should be cautious when clicking email attachments or links to avoid falling victim to spear phishing campaigns.

Spear phishing attacks have evolved into one of the most utilised types of cybercriminal activity worldwide. Organisations and users should be more aware of these campaigns, as they have proven to be a significant threat that causes massive damage.

How can iZOOlogic help my Company or Organisation?

Find out how iZOOlogic can provide protection against spear phishing attacks through our Phishing Solutions services.

To find out more about how iZOOlogic can help protect your company’s cyber security, schedule a demo.