Attacks caused by spear phishing: identification, defense, and definition

How does spear phishing work?

phishing with spears is a type of targeted emailing that targets particular people or groups using social engineering techniques. The malicious actor creates a unique and convincing message out of the recipient’s personal information ( name, email address, employment information, and interests ) rather than sending thousands of generic scam emails ( phishing ).

Emails sent via spear phishing may appear to be sent by a reliable friend, colleague, or organization, pleading with the victim to sign up or give their personal information. However, the malicious senders of spear phishing emails intend to harm the victim’s device by installing malware, espionage, or stealing data or money.

How to recognize an email that is spearphishing

Hackers trick victims into divulging their private information or clicking on malicious links by sending spear phishing emails without using a specific template. Therefore, it’s crucial to be aware of the various strategies employed by criminals to ensure a successful spear phishing cyberattack. If any of the following warning signs appear in the email, handle it with caution:

• In order to trick you into acting without giving it much thought, phishers typically try to instill a sense of urgency, guilt, or fear. They might irritate you by saying things like “immediate action is required” or “account will be closed.”
• Spear-phishing emails make minor changes to real email addresses in order to mimic them. A strange email address format should be avoided.
• You might be notified of a malicious email by spelling and grammar errors. Attackers typically meticulously craft spear phishing emails, though, to make them appear as convincing as possible.
• Beware of strange requests, even if the email appears to be legitimate, particularly when the sender is asking for money or sensitive information. To make sure the sender’s request is legitimate, it is always preferable to get in touch with them in another way.
• Check the URLs carefully before clicking because spearphishing emails occasionally contain them. Additionally, shortened links should not be used as a shortcut to malicious websites.
• Observe any unforeseen attachments. Malware or ransomware might be present in them.

How to report an attempt at spear phishing

To prevent further harm to yourself or your company, you must report a spear phishing attempt. If you think a spear phishing attack is imminent, take the following precautions:

• If you’ve received a spearphishing email in your work email, get in touch with the IT or security team. To safeguard the network and other workers, it will take action.
• Inform the email provider of the sender. The three most widely used ones—Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook—have reporting features that enhance internal spam filters and stop other users from receiving similar messages.
• Cybercrimes are handled by specialized government agencies in many nations. For instance, in the event of a spearphishing attack, if you’re from the US, get in touch with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC ).
• Inform the company if an attacker poses as a particular business. It ought to inform its clients and report the incident.

Understanding the distinction between spear phishing and whaling

Are you curious about the differences between whaling and spear phishing? Let’s compare these cyberthreats to one another:

spear phishing attacks examples

Check out these examples to learn more about malicious spear phishing strategies:

• Cybercriminals may want to target the CEO of a business or the security officer in order to obtain crucial logins. Attacks aimed at such elderly people are also referred to as whaling.
• To determine which individuals to target, cybercriminals conduct thorough online research on the company. In these situations, LinkedIn is especially helpful.
• Instead of sending a barrage of generic messages, cybercriminals personalize their messages.
• To appear more sincere, they mimic the company’s voice tone and communication patterns. They have the ability to make fictitious requests in order to learn beforehand about the company’s communication patterns.
• Through apps that provide temporary email services, they browse the company’s emails and produce ones that resemble one another.

How to defend against spearphishing assaults

To defend yourself and the assets of your business from spearphishing attacks, heed the advice below:

• Never divulge any information to individuals or groups you do n’t know or find suspicious by opening attachments or links. Always start by doing some research on the attachments.
• Always double-check with the person or organization through their official channels if you receive a suspicious message from someone you know or who appears to be trustworthy.
• The email addresses of your business should n’t be made public. Instead, get in touch with your customers via an online form.
• Inform your staff about various spear phishing techniques.
• Utilize the most recent security software. Utilizing NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature is another suggestion. It aids in the detection of malware-infected files, prevents you from visiting malicious websites, and immediately blocks trackers and intrusive advertisements.
• To make sure an email is not malicious, always double-check the sender’s email address. If you notice even the slightest distinction from a legitimate one ( for example, typos ), it is an obvious red flag.
• You should limit the information you share on social media. Internal information that reveals your business’s operations, communication patterns, or employee data should not be shared. Only divulge information that is neutral and essential.
• Check for grammar errors in emails; they can also be a red flag.
• Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.

FAQ

Who is the target of spear phishing?

phishing with spears targets specific individuals or small groups of people. The attacker researches their target and collects personal or organizational information, which they later use to craft personalized deceiving messages.

Is spear phishing a form of whaling?

Whaling is a type of spear phishing that concentrates on senior management and executives in high-profile positions within an organization. To trick the victim into giving away personal information or sending money to a fake account is the goal.

Angler phishing: What is it?

Attackers use angler phishing to trick social media users while posing as experts. In order to obtain sensitive information or money, bad actors pose as customer service representatives and employ social engineering strategies.

How does vishing work?

Vishing is a type of phishing that deceives users into giving out their personal information over the phone. Attackers frequently pose as banks, governmental organizations, or customer service representatives and incite panic in order to pressure the victim into making snap decisions.